Energy, EU – Baltic States, Financial Services, Gas, Latvia, Lithuania

Some 2.1 mln euros will go to Lithuania and 2.75 mln euros to Latvia, accounting for 50% of each country's eligible project costs, Lithuania's natural gas transmission system operator Amber Grid said on Monday.   

The Innovation and Networks Executive Agencies (INEA) under the European Commission approved last week the allocation of funds for the implementation of the Lithuanian-Latvian gas pipeline capacity enhancement project, it said in a press release, adding that the project was estimated to cost 10.2 mln euros in total. 

In Lithuania, the project will involve increasing the capacity of the Kiemenai gas metering station and reconstructing the gas pipeline's section at the Panevezys compressor station. On the Latvian side, it is planned to redevelop the trunk pipeline to increase the maximum working pressure from 40 to 50 bar.

Public procurement procedures for design work will be launched shortly, and bids from potential contractors will be invited in the first half of 2021, with the entire project planned to be completed by the end of 2023, according to the press release.

The enhanced gas transmission capacity between Lithuania and Latvia will facilitate market access to the Klaipeda LNG terminal, Latvia's Incukalns underground gas storage facility and, starting in 2022, the planned Gas Interconnector Poland-Lithuania (GIPL).

The enhanced gas transmission capacity between Lithuania and Latvia will facilitate market access to Klaipeda LNG terminal, Latvia's Incukalns underground gas storage facility, and Gas Interconnector Poland-Lithuania (GIPL) that will be operational by that time, Amber Grid said.