Lithuania Seeks Gas Swap Cooperation with Azerbaijan

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Azubalis has said that Lithuania is seeking to cooperate with Azerbaijan on energy projects, including gas swapping and investment between the two countries.

The country was seeking to increase cooperation in a number of areas, he told the second annual Azerbaijan-Lithuania intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation, especially in the field of energy.

In particular, the minister pointed to a recently approved LNG terminal project as a potential source of cooperation between the two sides,

"There is an investment project on the construction of [the] LNG terminal in Lithuanian ports, which could be attractive to investors in Azerbaijan," he said. "In 2014, we intend to commission this terminal with capacity of 3 billion cubic metres."

Cooperation on supply between the two countries on the LNG terminal was already being discussed elsewhere yesterday, with the Baltic News Service reporting that operator Klapeidos Nafta was meeting with Azeri companies to secure the supply of gas to the terminal.

Speaking on behalf of Azerbaijan, Azeri Minister for Taxes Fazil Mammadov said that Azerbaijan was also open to cooperation with Lithuania, particularly in relation to gas transport routes.

"Azerbaijan is seeking to diversify its energy supply routes,"he said. "In this regard, it is ready to actively cooperate with Lithuania."

At the meeting, it was also suggested that energy cooperation could also be strengthened through gas swapping. Minister Azubalis said that Lithuania would be open to swapping gas supplies with Azerbaijan in the future.