Insufficient protection and use of subsoil assets

“Subsoil assets should be better protected and sparingly used in our country,“ states Auditor General Rasa Budbergytė. According to her, unreasonable control system for use of assets is developed, while their use is hampered by bureaucratic obstacles. The National Audit Office of Lithuania recommended to develop a strategy for use of subsoil assets, as well as amendments to legislation in order to allow the optimal planning, management and control of extraction of all the subsoil assets.

Auditors pointed out that due to limited resources currently only extraction of quartz sand is restricted in Lithuania. On the initiative of the business, restrictions on extraction of other assets were abolished, although it may negatively influence Lithuanian economy in the future. If nonrenewable assets will be use unreasonably, the current export of subsoil assets may turn into import, while peat or gravel may be dug in remote localities.

In the opinion of the NAOL, procedure for issuing licenses for extraction of mining products needs to be changed. Currently such licenses are issued by means of a tendering procedure only for extraction of oil; licenses for other extractions are issued on the basis of the date of application submission. It does not only violate competition principles, but also the State does not receive all the possible benefit from its assets.

According to calculations of Lithuanian Geological Survey of the Republic of Lithuania, as of 31 December 2007, relative value of natural extractives of Lithuania totals LTL 58,3 billion, or 25 per cent of all the assets of the State. The National Audit Office expressed the opinion that calculations of relative value of subsoil assets are very cautious, since not all the assets had been evaluated.


Full report is available in Lithuanian:
Use of Subsoil