Baltic Energy Market Interconnection Plan GRIP 2017

There has been one operator, AB Amber Grid, in the natural gas transmission network, and six distribution system operators in Lithuania. More than 30% of gas consumed in Lithuania was supplied via distribution grids in 2016. Lithuania’s major gas distribution company was AB Energijos Skirstymo Operatorius (ESO), which ac- counted for 99% of Lithuania’s total gas quantities distributed in 2016. In Lithuania, the offshore LNG terminal is operated by AB Klaipėda Nafta. The LNG terminal is based on the Floating Storage and Regasification Unit technology. The total storage capacity of the LNG facility is 170,000m³ of LNG, while the regasifica- tion capacity amounts to 10.3mcm/d (~122GWh/d). The LNG terminal is connect- ed to the gas grid of AB Amber Grid by an 18km long linking pipeline.

3.5.3 MARKET INDICATORS, SUPPLY AND DEMAND In 2015, Lithuania’s total energy consumption amounted to 83TWh. The dominat- ing fuels were oil products and natural gas, whose respective shares in the primary energy balance stood at 36.4% and 29%.

Import from Lithuania in 2015

36.4%

Oil products

29.0%

Natural gas

16.9%

Firewood and other

8.7%

Net import of electricity

4.7%

RES

2.1%

Hard coal and lignite

1.3%

Biogas and biofuel

0.9%

Others

0.1%

Peat

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30% 35%

40%

2015

Figure 3.27: Structure of energy consumption, Lithuania, 2015 (Source: Statistics Lithuania)

3.5.3.1 Supply and demand

Until late 2014, gas imported from Russia was the only option available for Lithuania and the other Baltic States. The Baltic region’s natural gas market had no alterna- tive suppliers. The situation turned around with the launch of the new LNG terminal in Lithuania. The LNG terminal opened up the possibility for market players to import LNG supplies from global markets. Furthermore, 2015marked the completion of the Klaipėda-Kuršėnai gas transmission pipeline. With its enhanced throughput capacity, the gas pipeline enabled the exploitation of the full potential of the LNG terminals’ capacities and facilitated transportation of gas supplies both within Lithuania and to the other Baltic States. Despite the importance of natural gas in Lithuania’s economy, the demand for natural gas has been decreasing in recent years. This is mainly due to the increas- ing use of biofuel in the heating sector, energy efficiency, reduced gas consumption for generation of electricity, etc.

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BEMIP Gas Regional Investment Plan 2017