Lithuania said on June 26, 2017, that it had signed its 1st deal to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States as the Baltic EU nation moves to reduce its reliance on Russia's Gazprom.
The state-owned energy trading firm Lietuvos Duju Tiekimas said it signed the deal with the Texas company Cheniere Energy.
«We hope the 1st shipment of US LNG will arrive in the 2nd half of August,» spokesman Paulius Jakutavicius told AFP.
Lithuania opened a floating LNG terminal on its Baltic Sea coast and started importing gas from Norway's Statoil in 2015, weakening Moscow's grip on gas deliveries to the Baltic states.
Energy minister Zygimantas Vaiciunas hailed the deal for US deliveries as a historic moment that would help ensure competitive energy prices for the country of 2.8 million people.
Neighbouring Poland, which is also seeking energy independence from Russia, received its 1st LNG delivery from Cheniere this month at its own terminal in Swinoujscie on the Baltic coast.
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