The „Baltic Energy Island” – finally integrated into the European Gas Market? 

The energy landscape of the Baltic region is facing a turning point. On 3 April 2017 Latvia as last Baltic state will open its natural gas market to competition. Increasing cross-border trade among the Baltic countries may finally trigger the creation of an integrated regional Baltic gas market with a single liquid trading hub. However, new infrastructure projects will be needed to actively push market integration and to connect the region with other major EU gas markets. The Balticconnector between Estonia and Finland as well as the planned gas pipeline interconnection “GIPL” between Poland and Lithuania are only two projects that will contribute to driving the dynamics of market integration in the Baltic region.  

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The BALTIC GAS CONFERENCE, a newly invented series of 3 conferences, is organized by the German-Baltic Chamber of Commerce and it is taking place in all three capitals of the Baltic States. The conference has its focus on an economic analysis and the modeling of the market trends in consideration of the infrastructure projects in this region until 2020.

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The BALTIC GAS CONFERENCE will assess the current status of the gas market liberalization in the Baltic States and analyse potential future developments while putting them into the context of creating a single European energy market. How will liberalization and market opening affect the ownership structure of key assets? What will be the consequences for gas consumers? What are the principles and mechanisms of the European energy market? The German-Baltic Chamber of Commerce is looking forward to explore these and many more questions together with the participants and renowned experts from the natural gas industry as well as politics.

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The first conference will take place on March 22nd 2017 in Tallinn, followed by the conference on April 11th 2017 in Riga, and the final conference on April 20th in Vilnius. Each particular conference has its own specific focus. In TALLINN the main emphasis will be the free gas market, including the regulation, perspectives and conditions for each market participant. Moreover, the economic impact and the consequences for the business environment will be discussed. Gas market liberalization and building common gas market in the Baltics will be the main topic at RIGA’S conference. Finally, in VILNIUS the focus will be on the security of supply and diversification of the sources of supply. Therefore, it will be a discussion about the liquefied natural gas terminal in Klaipeda. At all conferences foreign and domestic experts, politicians and experts of the energy market as well as large and medium-sized companies are coming together to share and exchange their information and opinion.