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LG and Orlen Lietuva resumed the talks last summer.

"They (the talks) are not taking place now. To my knowledge, they have been unable to find a consensus. We appear to be heading for court to have the issue resolved. There's no other way to do so," Sinkevicius told on Tuesday.

He said that Orlen now demands 190 mln euros worth of discounts, an amount that is too large for the parties to find a compromise. In the minister's words, neither he nor LG's management will agree to such discounts and risk being punished for causing damage to the state railway company.

The minister said that an amicable settlement of the dispute would only be possible if both sides scaled down their demands.

"Currently, there is a gap of 190 mln euros in their negotiating positions. The difference is too large. We once tried to reduce it to 40 mln euros and I saw a chance of reaching an agreement. However, the gap later widened again," he said.

Albertas Simenas, deputy CEO of LG, told that the process has already returned to court, adding that the companies continue to work under their existing contract signed back in 2009. 

"We continue to follow the existing contract and we calculate the tariffs and issue invoices based on it. However, Orlen interprets it in its own way and every day pays less than the invoiced amount. Therefore, these debts are growing daily," he said.

The deputy CEO could not say how much exactly Orlen Lietuva owes to the railway company.

Orlen Lietuva, which claims that the railway company calculates its service prices incorrectly, in September raised to 70 mln euros the amount of its arbitration claim against LG.

The railway operator has also sued the crude refinery.

Simenas told in mid-September that the talks had gone into a deadlock after Orlen Lietuva had put forward its new position.

Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius has admitted that a deal between LG and Orlen would make it simpler for Lithuania to speak with Poland about joint strategic energy projects.

It is feared that if the railway company fails to reach a deal with the refinery, talks on the synchronization of electricity grids may stall. Also, Poland has pushed back the expected completion date for the Gas Interconnector Poland-Lithuania (GIPL) project by two years and a half.