Lithuania delaying Lietuvos Dujos reorganization until mid-2013
VILNIUS. June 30 (Interfax) - Lithuania's parliament Thursday adopted amendments to the law in natural gas that call for the reorganization of gas utility Lietuvos Dujos as part of the EU's Third Energy package, BNS reports.
The parliament decided that the company should not be unbundled for two years after the law is enacted, that is in the summer of 2013.
The parliament permitted the government to reorganize Lietuvos Dujos by separating its trunk gas pipelines and transferring them to state ownership in a two-year period, and spinning off distribution and sales divisions. Lithuania was supposed to comply with the EU directives by March 3, 2011 and to reorganize Lietuvos Dujos by the spring of 2012.
The company's two core shareholders, Gazprom (37.06%) and E.ON Ruhrgas (38.9%), objected to having the pipelines taken away, saying this was a violation of the privatization agreement. The EU Gas Directive enables countries like Lithuania with isolated gas markets to delay its implementation until alternative sources of gas supplies are in place.