Energy, Gas, Investments, Legislation, Lithuania

"It is not the most suitable time to call a tender now. Business plans are being revised due to tense geopolitical situation. Many hydrocarbon extraction companies have cut spending on oil and gas exploration or have abandoned it altogether because of changes of oil prices in the international market. However, we hope that the situation will change and new companies will emerge that will take interest in shale oil or gas extraction opportunities in Lithuania and will participate in the tender," said the minister of environment.

Investors should find Silute-Taurage area attractive because it is possible to extract oil in traditional ways there, but once oil is extracted the same well could be used to drill into layers of shale.

The minister of energy said that in order to attract potential investors and encourage them to participate in the tender, it is crucial to professionally prepare information about the geological data, legal environment, environmental requirements, tendering conditions and to disseminate this information worldwide. According to the minister, all available channels must be used in order to achieve this – embassies, international events and meetings with company representatives.

A new shale gas exploration tender in the Silute-Taurage area is planned to be announced in two or three months, however, the date will essentially depend on how interested investors will be, says Lithuanian Environment Minister Kestutis Treciokas.

"Yes, in two or three months. This will be the whole Government's decision, not just mine. However, if we do not find any interested investors or only some shady companies show interest then we will discuss if it is really worth risking. There is no point in announcing a tender just for the sake of announcing something," the minister said on Wednesday.

According to him, Lithuania is most of all interested in energy companies from the US, Poland, and Canada which have shale gas extraction experience. However, the minister admitted that has not received any signals of interest from potential investors.

In reaction to the declining interest of investors, heads of the Environment Ministry and the Energy Ministry agreed to look for potential investors together. The environment and energy ministers agreed to establish a joint team which will look for and attract investors.

They say that investors should find the Silute-Taurage area attractive because it is possible to extract oil in traditional ways there, but once oil is extracted the same well could be used to drill into layers of shale.