EMEA News
Statoil to Supply LNG Bunkers in Baltic Sea
Statoil ASA (Statoil) is set to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkers in the Baltic Sea after reaching agreement on a supply deal with Lithuanian state-owned energy group Lietuvos Energija, local media reports.
The Norwegian and Lithuanian companies are understood to have been discussing the terms of the deal for the past 18 months.
The deal, signed last Thursday, will see Statoil supply LNG bunkers and supply gas to smaller terminals from the Klaipėda LNG terminal.
The move is reported to come after low oil prices led Statoil to postpone a plan to start an LNG bunkering business in the region.
"We think that one way or the other, LNG as a marine fuel will force itself ahead, either through price mechanisms or through environmental legislation that we see coming more and more," said Ingvar Skogseide, Statoil's head of LNG operations.
In April, Lithuania's Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius said talks between LitGas and Norway's Statoil to finalise a joint venture for small-scale LNG trade needed to be completed or negotiations between Klaipėdos Nafta and Bomin Linde LNG would be at risk of falling apart.
