Czechs discussing 1.5 bcm LNG deal with US, minister says

PRAGUE, March 12 (Reuters) - The Czech Republic is in talks with the United States for the supply of 1.5 billion cubic metres of liquefied natural gas, the industry minister was quoted as saying on Thursday by Hospodarske Noviny.

Like other countries in central and eastern Europe, the Czech Republic has been diversifying its energy sources since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. According to S&P Global this has also recently helped cushion the blow from the war in the Middle East.

Czech Industry Minister Karel Havlicek was quoted as saying he had met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to discuss the deal, which would involve utility CEZ CEZP.PR.

"One of the important missions is to prepare the conditions for concluding a key contract between the Czech Republic through CEZ and the United States in the field of LNG," he told reporters in Washington, according to Hospodarske Noviny.

"We are talking about 1.5 billion cubic metres, which we would contract for a period of approximately 15 to 20 years."

He said negotiations were underway with the three largest gas suppliers who operate terminals in the U.S.