Page 14 - GLNG Week 36 2022

GLNG EUROPE GLNG

Czechia pushes for more

connections to LNG terminals

TERMINALS CZECH premier Petr Fiala (ODS party) and his to the current gas reserves and the new LNG
Polish counterpart Mateusz Morawiecki (PiS) links, Czechia can probably last until March
have announced the resumption of work on without imports of Russian gas.
the Stork II pipeline bringing gas from the Pol- Czechia has pipeline connections to Ger-
ish LNG terminal at Swinoujscie to Libhost in many providing infrastructure from the west and
Czechia’s northern Moravian region. south but no infrastructure to the north.
Premiers of both countries made the Some 90% of gas has been coming from
announcement during the economic forum in Russia, making Czechia one of the most energy
the Polish spa city of Karpacz near the Czech dependent countries on Putin’s regime.
border and stressed that Stork II will contribute The Czech energy market has been for years
to greater energy security in Central Europe. dominated by the majority-state-owned utility
“We cannot make the same mistake as our CEZ and private conglomerates producing and
predecessors in office who did not care about distributing energy: EPH of billionaires Daniel
energy security”, Fiala was quoted as saying Kretinsky and Patrik Tkac, and Sev.En of con-
by the Czech Press Agency, and he praised troversial coal tycoon Pavel Tykac.
the recent opening of the pipeline connecting As the energy crisis deepens, calls have
Poland and Slovakia. mounted for a greater increase of renewable
Plans to restart the works to landlocked resources in the energy mix, the introduction
Czechia were announced already in May follow- of an energy windfall tax, or nationalisation of
ing the Russian invasion of Ukraine. CEZ, all ideas that the three big energy compa-
The project was shelved by the previous nies have been resisting.
cabinet of Andrej Babis (ANO). Czech ex-pre- Mirek Motejlek, editor and manager of the
mier Bohuslav Sobotka (Social Democrats) has Motejlekskocdopole.cz business insider web-
recently accused his successor Babis of delib- site, referred to EPH and Sev.En as masters of the
erately derailing the Stork II project in concert energy crisis. “PT (Pavel Tykac) and DK (Daniel
with Czech president Milos Zeman, known to Kretinsky) did it”, he wrote on Facebook on Tues-
be a long-term Russia supporter, to maintain day, and added they “obtained cheap loans, got
Czechia’s high dependency on Russian imports. no windfall tax and enough room in [the Czech
Fiala also announced this week that he is to price] cap to be no. 1 and no. 2 in Forbes [per-
attend Thursday’s opening of a new floating LNG sonal wealth index for the Czech Republic]”.
terminal in the Netherlands which could provide On Sunday Czech Minister of Industry and
up to 30% of annual gas consumption in Czechia. Trade Jozef Sikela (STAN) confirmed that EPH
Earlier this year Czechia’s majori- and Sev.En will receive state loans to cover their
ty-state-owned energy utility CEZ rented out energy trading deposits™
capacity in the Dutch LNG terminals. According

P14 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 36 09•September•2022