Baltic Prime Ministers to agree on a single LNG market within two weeks

Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis has visited the Inčukalns gas storage in Latvia, as part of the Baltic Prime Ministers’ meeting on LNG issues, hosted by the Prime Minister of Latvia.

The Prime Ministers of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have reached a principled agreement to move forward on the joint LNG infrastructure in the Baltic region. The Heads of Government have decided to give two weeks for the preparation of a text for the European Commission and the relevant decision taken at a sitting of the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers.

The content of the above-mentioned text is to be agreed between the national ministries.

According to Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis the agreement on a regional LNG infrastructure package would contribute to the diversification of gas supply, while providing for additional commercially attractive opportunities for the cooperation between these companies, as well as for an advantage against the Russian pipeline-transported gas.  It may also have a positive benefit for Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian consumers in terms of a potentially decreased rate of 5-7% from 2019.