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Setback for Poland as Denmark

repeals Baltic Pipe permit

DENMARK DENMARK’S Environmental and Food Appeals project that spans across Denmark. It is impos-
Board repealed the country’s Environmental sible not to affect the areas we work in, but we
The consequences at Protection Agency’s permit for the onshore part are fully committed to minimizing impact to
this stage are unclear. of the Baltic Pipe, a gas link between Norway both people and nature, and to secure good con-
and Poland, the Danish electricity and gas grids ditions for protected species during and after
operator Energinet, which is building the pipe- the construction of Baltic Pipe”, Marian Kaagh,
line in cooperation with Poland, said on June 3. Energinet’s vice president for projects, said in a
The board’s decision is a setback for Poland, statement.
which is building capacity to import gas from The EU-backed pipeline will deliver 10bn
sources other than Russia. Warsaw plans for the cubic metres per year of gas to Poland at full
Baltic Pipe to start pumping gas from the Nor- capacity, helping the country to wean itself off
wegian Sea – where Poland’s oil and gas com- Russian gas and replace more coal-fired power
pany PGNiG has exploration and production generation with cleaner gas-burning plants.
licenses – in late 2022. Warsaw has repeatedly said it does not
Poland’s long-term supply contract with Rus- intend to buy any Russian gas after the expiry of
sia’s Gazprom expires at the end of 2022. Poland the Gazprom contract, which currently covers
has long said it is not going to renew it. roughly two-thirds of Polish gas demand, esti-
According to the board, the repealed permit mated at some 16bn cubic metres (bcm).
“did not sufficiently describe the measures taken Other than via the Baltic Pipe, Poland plans
to protect dormice, Nordic birch mice and bats,” to replace Russian gas with its 5 bcm per year
Energinet said in a statement. Swinoujscie LNG terminal, which is set to
The Danish grid operator said that it would expand capacity to 7.5 bcm by 2023.
now work to clarify what consequences the Poland also wants to build another LNG termi-
repealing of the permit will have for the Baltic nal in Gdansk that would handle 4 bcm per year of
Pipe project. An interim suspension of the pipe- gas starting in 2025. Added to this is roughly 4 bcm
line’s construction appears inevitable, however. per year of domestic gas production.
“Energinet is at this moment preparing a Poland’s use of gas is expected to soar as the
plan for a temporary shutdown of construction country is looking to replace its coal-fired power
activities until the required permit is in place,” generation installation in line with the EU’s cli-
Energinet said. mate policy. Warsaw also wants to be the CEE’s
“The Baltic Pipe is a major infrastructure gas hub. ™

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 23 10•June•2021