The minister on Tuesday met with Gilbert Ankenbauer, the head of the Lithuanian office of US energy company Chevron, which seeks to explore for shale gas in the western part of the country.
“It is very important for Lithuania to know what resources it has since it may be a big step towards energy independence. The most important thing is to coordinate all further steps with the interests of the public and environmental principles,” the minister said during the meeting.
The ministry said in the press release that Ankenbauer had notified the minister about the plans of the company’s operations in Lithuania and pointed out that the company would place special emphasis on the safety of its works, would take all environmental requirements into account, and would pursue as close a dialogue with the public as possible while exploring for energy resources in Lithuania.
The parliamentary Committee on Environment Protection has recently proposed to the government to suspend shale gas extraction project in Lithuania. However, the Cabinet points out that it is necessary to explore whether Lithuania has any shale resources in the first place. President Dalia Grybauskaitė has expressed her support for shale gas exploration as well.
According to preliminary estimates, the country could have recoverable shale gas reserves of around 100 billion to 120 billion cubic meters.
