whether the Independence storage vessel has paid off for Lithuania
The economist explained that in 2009-2014. Lithuania paid about 40 percent for natural gas. made more than the European Union average price.
According to him, Lithuania simply could not have any other choice, because the only natural gas supplier at that time was the state gas monopoly of Russia, Gazprom. Tadas did not have the opportunity to negotiate a lower price for Lithuania.
However, with the introduction of the Independence storage vessel, Lithuania gained leverage, then the price of natural gas equalized with the EU average.
“In other words, if we hadn’t had Independence, it’s very likely that we would have continued to pay about 40 percent. higher natural gas prices than the EU average.
So in 7 years (2015–2021) we would have paid an additional 1.5 billion for natural gas. “This is three times more than the cost of renting the LNG storage vessel” Independence “, – J.Muricas calculated.
He emphasized that by adopting such a decision, Lithuania not only paid less for natural gas imports, but also diversified its import sources, increasing its energy, economic and political security.
“We have avoided the German scenario,” the economist wrote.
Until 2015 Lithuania 100 percent. In 2015–2021, it imported natural gas from Russia. this share fell to 53 percent, 30 percent. market was occupied by Norway, 10 percent. – USA.
2021 The share of gas imported from Russia has further decreased to 40%, and it is planned not to buy it at all this year.
“With the onset of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, most Western countries are refusing to buy natural gas from Russia. If they had not had Independence, they would have been forced to continue to buy gas from Russia (and to support its military aggression in Ukraine) and to pay for the rubles at Vladimir Putin’s own request. That would be a great humiliation for Lithuania.
The humiliation would be not only for Lithuania, but also for other Baltic countries, which, unfortunately, do not have their own LNG terminals.
It is all fortunate that Lithuania has “Independence”, the capacity of which is sufficient to meet the demand for natural gas not only in Lithuania but also in other Baltic countries, “Ž.Muricas explained.
According to the economist, an increasing share of the world’s natural gas is purchased through an LNG terminal, and the importance of pipelines. It is likely that after 10-15 years, the volume of global trade in natural gas through LNG terminals will be higher than through pipelines. Tadas Lietuva, which has an LNG terminal, is an integral part of the global natural gas trade.
“Poland, for example, is already planning to import LNG through Independence,” Maurice said.