Lithuanian Official Says Shale Protests "Misguided"

Lithuanian shale protesters are "misguided" and are posing a threat to Lithuania becoming a prosperous country on a par with Norway, a senior official has said.

Nerijus Udrenas, chief economic advisor to President Dalia Grybauskaitė, said on Lithuanian radio station Ziniu Radijas that he was surprised by the protests, particularly in light of the fact that people did not protest against Russian supplier Gazprom when that company overcharged the country for gas imports.

"It’s strange that nobody protests when they know that due to changes to the gas price formula of Gazprom and Lietuvos Dujos, Lithuanian consumers overpaid 5 billion litas (EUR 1.45 billion), and they protest directly against the exploration opportunity for us to learn what we have beneath," the Lithuania Tribune quotes him as saying.

He described some of the protesters as having been wilfully misguided by others who ulterior motives for the protests.

"Their emotions are guided by selfish people who have certain narrow goals," he said.

Lithuania has increasingly looked for alternatives to Russian supply in the past few years in a bid to break from Gazprom's monopoly on supply to the country. Besides shale, an LNG terminal has been planned for the country. The government last year decreed that the this terminal must provide at least 25 per cent of Lithuania's gas needs. 

However, plans to explore for shale gas have been met with less support from both opposition parties and the general public. Last month, energy minister Jaroslav Neverovic reaffirmed his support for shale gas, in particular Chevron's exploration of the Silute-Taurage field. 

Chevron, the sole bidder for the field, were expected to be confirmed as the winner of that tender at the end of February. The decision has since been deferred to March 19th.