Environment Minister Valentinas Mazuronis has asked Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius to express the government's opinion about further steps by the Commission for the Use of Hydrocarbon Resources, which was formed by the previous government.
"I want to reiterate what I have said repeatedly: one or another decision on shale gas cannot be taken in haste. We have not only to wait for findings of research by a group of scientists, but also to take into consideration the potential impact on the environment and to assess the experience of other states," Mazuronis said in a press release.
The commission is to decide if bids submitted by Chevron Exploration & Production Lietuva and Diseta comply with the requirements and, if they do, name the companies the winners of two separate tenders for oil and gas exploration in the western part of the country.
Chevron's Lithuanian subsidiary, Chevron Exploration & Production Lietuva, in January submitted the sole bid for the right to explore for shale gas and oil in the Šilutė-Tauragė field. Diseta, a Lithuanian company founded in late October, bid to explore for hydrocarbons in the Kudirka-Kybartai field.
