Brussels, 27/08/2010 (Agence Europe) - Speaking at an energy conference in Vilnius on 26 August, the Lithuanian minister for energy, Arvydas Sekmokas, pleaded for the gas interconnection project between Poland and Lithuania to be implemented “as soon as possible”. “This interconnection must be built, and Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger has confirmed it. Having a joint EU infrastructure for both electricity and gas is one of our objectives”, said the Lithuanian minister, quoted by the agency Baltic News Service (our translation). “It appears that in 5 or 10 years from now, Poland may become a supplier of gas and an important source of gas for Europe, or at least for its closest neighbours. Poland has considerable reserves of shale gas”, added a researcher from the Lithuanian Energy Institute, Jurgis Vilemas, who chaired the conference. The Lithuanian energy specialist Lietuvos Dujos and gas transmission system operator Gaz-System announced in early August their intention of looking into possibilities to connect up the gas systems of the two neighbouring countries. Lithuania hopes in this way to be able to free itself by up to 50% of its reliance on the Russian monopoly for its gas provision. (E.H./transl.fl)