Lithuania: Leveraging a New LNG Technology

Lithuania announced March 2 that it will lease a Norwegian Floating Storage and Regasification Unit in 2014. The unit, an offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification ship, theoretically could provide more than enough natural gas to meet Lithuania's needs. The relatively new technology, which is mobile and able to be leased, helps small countries avoid the large up-front costs of building LNG facilities and thus could change the energy landscape for coastal countries in Russia's periphery. However, Moscow will retain significant influence over Lithuania's energy supplies in the near term.