Every oil drop is calculated in a borehole near Silute town – some time ago the Lithuanian black gold was squirting in a much stronger stream. "There is no profit at all. We are looking for ways to save money, to optimise our activities," said Virgilijus Petuskas, financial director of the company LL Investicijos which is operating the borehole. "Smaller price affected our income," he said openly.
The oil extracted by LL Investicijos is bought by the company Orlen Lietuva, but it pays the same price as on the world market. "The price of Lithuanian oil is calculated according to Brent value. If it falls our income falls as well," he said.
As oil becomes cheaper, the state budget also receives less income. In 2012, Lithuania's budget got LTL 35 million (EUR 10 million) from oil extraction. A similar number was expected last year but in fact only LTL 26.5 million (EUR 7.7 million) went to the state budget. However, this year will probably see the biggest slump as in 9 months so far only LTL 15 million (EUR 4.3 million) has been collected.
