Forty one licenses have been issued in the natural gas sector where the NERC performs the regulation of 9 economic entities. The Natural Gas Exchange has been functioning since 23 November 2011. On 9 November 2012 the NCC issued the license of the Natural Gas Market Operator to UAB GET Baltic. In 2016, 1 license was issued for the supply of natural gas activity. 1 license for the natural gas distribution and 2 licenses for the supply of natural gas activity were repealed. At the end of 2016, one market participant was active in transmission activity, 5 – in distribution, 1 – in liquefaction, 13 supply market participants sold gas at the Natural Gas Exchange and/or under bilateral agreements, and 1 supply market participant sold gas only in the Natural Gas Exchange. One market participant acted as market operator. 4 market participants sell liquefied oil gas.
In 2016, the players operating in the natural gas import market imported 24,4 TWh of natural gas, the weighted average price of the natural gas import – 18,33 Eur/MWh.
Figure 1. Market shares held by natural gas importers in 2016, percent.
In 2016, the volume of the natural gas transit reached 23,5 TWh. In 2016, in the wholesale natural gas market 19,09 TWh of natural gas were supplied, 1,54 percent of this quantity was traded via Natural Gas Exchange. The quantity of natural gas supplied in the retail natural gas market was 7,065 TWh. In 2016, the quantity of natural gas transported via the gas distribution system equaled 7,5 TWh.
The revenues in 2016 earned from the operations of the natural gas transmission to customers equaled EUR 49,9 million. The biggest share of the distribution market (98,89 percent) is held by AB „Energijos skirstymo operatorius". In 2016, the revenues earned from the distribution operators were EUR 59,5 million. The revenues from natural gas supply – EUR 348 million. The value of transactions in Natural Gas Exchange was EUR 5,2 million.
The investments in the natural gas sector in 2016 totaled EUR 31,9 million, from this amount EUR 12,7 million were invested in the transmission, EUR 19,2 million – in the distribution.
