04/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - Latvia in favour of diversifying sources of supply. In Latvia's view, the diversification of sources of supply and interconnection with the rest of Europe are priorities in the field of energy. A proposal tabled by this member state provides for the construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal as a means of diversifying sources of gas supply for the whole region. By the end of the summit, however, there was no agreement between the three Baltic states on where to locate this terminal, which Riga in particular has its eye on (Latvia being the only country which has a gas storage capacity). The project aims to ensure “that the Baltic countries are not 100% dependent from the Gazprom gas supplies”, Valdis Dombrovskis told EUROPE on the sidelines of the summit. The Latvian prime minister went on to stress that this proposal was in line with the European objective to ensure “alternative gas supply possibility” and “to ensure that by 2015, no EU member state should be left isolated from the EU energy networks”. The cost of building a terminal of this kind in Riga would be in the region of 500 million lats (€711 million), according to Latvian estimates. It would take four or five years to complete the terminal. (A.By./transl.fl)