Baltic States – CIS, Energy, Gas, Lithuania, USA

Arvydas Sekmokas in Washington, 11.05.2011. Photo: enmin.lt

"I will propose to the government to take immediate steps to make shale gas extraction in Lithuania a reality," Sekmokas, who is visiting the United States this week to talks with industry experts, said in a statement.

He underlined that Lithuania is estimated to have sufficient reserves of gas trapped in shale – sedimentary rock containing hydrocarbons – to cover its needs for between 30 and 50 years, reports LETA/ELTA, referring to AFP.

Though generally more expensive to extract than conventional natural gas, it is seen as a way to cut dependence on imports.

Lithuania relies entirely on Russia for its gas, a legacy of its time as a Soviet republic.

The small Baltic nation's relations with Moscow have remained rocky since it won independence from the Kremlin as the Soviet Union unravelled in 1991.

Vilnius is locked in a market-reform dispute with Russian gas giant Gazprom, which besides being its supplier also owns a stake in Lithuania's gas distribution network.

Lithuania is also planning to build a liquefied natural gas terminal on its coast in a drive to diversify suppliers.