As a member of the EU, Lithuania is bound by the gas directive that calls for unbundling in some form, and the country's government has opted for the most extreme of the three forms that the directive allows: ownership unbundling.
In an open letter published Monday, the company said the government is in breach of its obligations under international investment protection instruments.
"We again call for a halt to the expedited legislative process and for direct and meaningful consultations with the Lithuanian government to discuss all options for amending the draft gas law," the letter said.
It was signed by representatives of the company's two shareholders, Germany's E.ON Ruhrgas and Russia's Gazprom.
The letter also sought to refute allegations that the Lithuanian company was not fostering market development as well as a number of other statements that the company said were not true.
These claims and statements have been made by Lithuanian politicians over the past few months, the company said, and include suggestions that: energy independence may only be reached if the state controls the grid; LD has discriminated against third parties over access; LD has underinvested in the grid; LD has not cooperated with plans to build an LNG import terminal;
unbundling will reduce prices; and LD shareholders have been involved in discussions on the new gas law.
With regard to the last point, the letter said, the government approved the concept for implementing ownership unbundling without involving the major shareholders or the company itself. They were invited to a working group, but that only discussed how to implement ownership unbundling and not the alternatives that the directive also offers.
The authors said they have published the letter as direct and confidential letters to the president, the government and the prime minister of Lithuania, as well as a public appeal to enter into direct constructive talks on implementing the third directive had all been ignored.
China Chemical Weekly: http://news.chemnet.com/en/detail-1411716.html
