Lithuanian Gas Exchange to Cross Borders in 2017

Lithuania’s gas exchange Get Baltic is mulling expansion into Latvia and Estonia in 2017 and setting up a single trade system for all three Baltic states to improve gas trade among them.

As Latvia has not yet liberalised its gas market and will start the unbundling of its gas infrastructure only next spring, a single flexible regional gas market still remains a striving of the countries. The effective entry-exit point system causing additional payments on each border for gas transportation has also been an obstacle.

“We plan to expand and are working on making a decision. Currently both Latvian and Estonian participants have the possibility of buying gas on the Lithuanian exchange and transporting it. From the middle to the end of next year, we plan to establish trading platforms in Estonia and Latvia, and the exchange will then be responsible for a single large platform with three trade sites,” Get Baltic CEO Giedre Kurme told local media.

A unified gas exchange of the Baltic States is expected to start operations in 2020, she pointed out. With a single gas exchnge, there will be no cross-border transport fees. Get Baltic has been operating in Lithuania since 2013 and now has 58 participants. Most are Lithuanian but two are from Latvia and four from Estonia.

Linas Jegelevicius