In his words, the project received a green light from Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius-led LNG project implementation commission.
Masiulis said Klaipedos Nafta will initially have a 10-% stake in the joint venture with Bomin. The model is intended to make sure that gas transportation from the LNG ship Independence to the land-based LNG distribution station to be built by Klaipedos Nafta is cheaper and able to compete with other similar stations in the Baltic Sea.
"Klaipedos Nafta must do everything in its capacity to make the station competitive – the company must ensure that transportation costs from the terminal to the station are the lowest possible. The distance is 10 km, and someone has to bring back the gas. One of the ways is contributing a 10-% capital to a joint venture with Bomin, which will purchase a vessel. We will only ensure transportation but won't be involved in trade operations to be developed by Statoil and Litgas," Masiulis added.
"Our objective is to bring Statoil to the place of trade," the energy minister added.
In Masiulis' words, Norway's Statoil is expected to announce its decision on establishment of a joint venture with Litgas by the end of this month. "Statoil has said it would give an indication this month," he stressed.
The delay of the Norwegian concern in setting up the joint venture has to do with decline in oil and gas prices, Masiulis noted, adding that the process has been a major setback of corporate investment.
Last November, Klaipedos Nafta and Bomin Linde LNG established a joint venture, Blue LNG. The Lithuanian company was reported to hold a 20-% stake in Blue LNG, which will lease a bunker supply vessel with a capacity of more than 7,000 cubic meters at a fee that is not being disclosed to the public. The vessel is expected to be built by early 2017.