According to Mantas Bartuska, the unnamed suppliers are currently performing audits at the LNG terminal and could supply gas to Estonian or Latvian importers.
"There is interest in increasing the terminal's capacity and possibilities are being sought for additional volumes. Latvia's possibilities will depend on their regulatory changes. You have to understand that 12 cargoes have been scheduled until October and additional volumes are possible, but it is more difficult to rearrange the schedule. The planning is done for a year ahead," Bartuska said at a news conference.
"There are currently 2-3 world-level players that are performing audits at the terminal and carrying out preparatory work. If are possibilities, other players could emerge next to Statoil," he said.
The CEO did not name these companies, but said that they were global market players.
"The suppliers have a fleet. They carry out an audit and watch if the terminal is safe and if gas tankers' technological equipment and insurance issues are compatible with those of our terminal so as to make sure that if needed, the procedural thinks are clear. In the long run, it is realistic to expect that there will be different suppliers," he said.
According to Bartuska, additional LNG cargoes could be delivered for customers in Latvia and Estonia.
"Competition in the LNG market has helped bring LNG prices down and LNG prices for six months ahead are now lower than that of (Gazprom's) pipelined gas," he said.
Statoil is currently the only supplier of gas via the Klaipeda LNG terminal. The Norwegian company delivers gas to Litgas, the gas trade arm of the state-owned energy group Lietuvos Energija (Lithuanian Energy), the state-owned gas importer Lietuvos Duju Tiekimas (Lithuanian Gas Supply, or LDT) and the fertilizer manufacturer Achema.
Achema plans to purchase up to 700 million cubic meters of Statoil gas this year and LDT plans to buy up to 300 million cubic meters by October.
Litgas has recently revised its long-term contract with Statoil, reducing the annual gas purchase volume to 350 million cubic meters, from 540 million cubic meters previously. Litgas already sells a part of the gas purchased from the Norwegians to consumers in Estonia.
The Klaipeda LNG terminal has an annual design capacity of up to 4 billion cubic meters.
