Deputy US Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette has held talks with Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian senior government officials at a ministerial and investment forum in the southern US state of Texas, during which they discussed energy cooperation and uniform natural gas market in the region
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th March, 2019) Deputy US Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette has held talks with Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian senior government officials at a ministerial and investment forum in the southern US state of Texas, during which they discussed energy cooperation and uniform natural gas market in the region.
"On Thursday, March 14, 2019 key officials from the U.S., Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, including Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette, Minister of Energy Kadri Simson of Estonia, State Secretary Eriks Egilitis of Latvia, and Minister of Energy Zygimantas Vaiciunas of Lithuania, met on the sidelines of the 1st Ministerial of the Partnership for Transatlantic Energy Cooperation (P-TEC) in Houston, Texas," the department said in a press release.
During the meeting, the ministers addressed the expansion of energy cooperation between Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the United States, cybersecurity issues and the establishment of a uniform natural gas market in the region, among other topics, the press release said.
"The Ministers agreed on the importance of close cooperation under the umbrella of P-TEC in the form of a 3+1 Forum. This Forum of cooperation will provide an opportunity to test innovative ideas related to energy markets that could present unique opportunities for the broader European energy network, particularly in the area of natural gas and LNG [liquefied natural gas]," the press release added.
The four energy ministers also agreed to hold their next meeting as soon as possible before the end of the year.
The United States, which did not start exporting its LNG until only a few years ago, is already striving to be included into the top three leading liquefied natural gas producers in the world by the end of 2019. Washington now seeks to expand its export opportunities in Europe and opposes the construction of new gas pipelines in the region by one of the key gas suppliers to Europe Russia.
