Turkmenistan to build gas terminal, may export gas to Lithuania - PM
VILNIUS. June 17 (Interfax) - Lithuania may import gas from Turkmenistan when it completes the building of a terminal, Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius said during an official visit to Turkmenistan.
Turkmenistan plans to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal during the next three years, which LNG it will be able to deliver to Lithuania, Butkevicius said.
"They intend to invest in gas pipelines both in the Western direction and to port. I assume it might be cheaper after they erect an LNG terminal, and this is slated for three years. I think the nearest opportunity for Lithuania would be to receive gas from Turkmenistan by ship," he told the Baltic News Service by phone from the port of Turkmenbashi.
During his official visit, Butkevicius intends to familiarize himself with plans for the development of the port on the Caspian Sea, after which the country will be able to start exporting gas, the government press service said.
"We have been presented with plans for the development of the port, a tender has been conducted and the winners announced [for the building of the LNG terminal], which will be erected right by the current new port," he said. "It was said that after this they will be able to export, and Lithuania will thereby gain the opportunity of acquiring liquefied gas from a fresh source," he said.
As an alternative for delivering gas to Europe, Turkmenistan is considering transporting it by tanker to the Azerbaijani capital Baku and then by rail to Georgian ports on the Black Sea. There the gas will be reloaded onboard tankers, according to naturalgaseurope.com.
Butkevicius and Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukkhamedov will take part in the opening of the Lithuanian-Turkmen business forum on Tuesday.
Turkmenistan holds fourth place in the world by its natural gas reserves and is one of the ten biggest cotton producers.
