Several American companies have showed interest in the exploration and extracting of the shale gas in Lithuania, the country's Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius said on Tuesday.

"I received information this week that after our visit to the U.S., there is interest again in the soon to be held tender in Lithuania," Butkevicius said in an interview with the national LRT radio.

During his visit to the United States in October last year, Butkevicius met with members of the American association of shale gas extraction.

Lithuania plans to hold a new shale gas exploration tender early this year.

The new tax rules for unconventional hydrocarbons were approved by the parliament in December last year. The parliament had decided that shale gas exploration companies will be exempt from tax for extracted raw materials for three years and afterwards will pay a fixed rate of 15 percent.

U.S. oil giant Chevron pulled out of the Baltic country in October 2013, due to what the company said then was an uncertain legal framework for shale projects. Endit

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