BNE: MP's call for moratorium on Lithuanian shale gas

Lithuania's Environmental Protection Committee is calling for a moratorium on shale gas drilling and an investigation into the local unit of US energy major Chevron - the only company to bid in a tender in January offering exploration rights. 

In a statement posted on the parliament's website on February 6, according to Bloomberg, the committee stated: "The government should halt shale-gas exploration and production until competent European Union institutions give an opinion" on the safety of related technologies. 

The parliamentary panel also called for the government to check agreements with landowners made by Investicijos UAB. Prosecutors must "defend the public interest" with regard to the oil and gas company's activities, the committee said. 

The call is one of the first hints of a potential change in Vilnius' approach to Russia, which dominates the Lithuanian gas market. While some will see it as capitulation to gas giant Gazprom, others will note that Brussels remains very unsure of the environmental impact of extracting shale gas, and many EU states have a moratorium in place while the issue is researched. Still, the news suggests a debate on Lithuania's energy policy is being reopened by the recently-appointed government. MORE