Statoil’s rising LNG market share ‘good sign for consumers’ in Lithuania

“If information that Statoil‘s new price terms are better than Gazprom‘s proves correct, it is really good news for consumers in Lithuania, because that should reduce the terminal’s costs and overall make the price of heating and other services related to the use of natural gas cheaper,” Ramūnas Vilpišauskas, director of the International Relations and Political Science Institute at Vilnius University, told BNS.

Vilpišauskas said the developments may also encourage Latvia and Estonia to diversify their gas supplies.

“I think this may give a positive impetus in bringing other neighbouring countries into the gas supply system and may also encourage Latvia to improve its regulatory environment and take part in natural gas purchases from the Klaipėda terminal,” he said.

Statoil’s growing market share shows that LNG is becoming a serious alternative to Gazprom gas according to Jaroslav Neverovič, a former Lithuanian energy minister.

“Looking at the situation in the LNG market, when supply rises and demand falls, especially in Asia, price trends are downward, and I believe this is an indication of what will happen in the future and shows that despite some very loud statements by Gazprom, LNG may gain a very serious market share not only in our market, but also in the wider European region,” he told BNS.