Page 7 - GLNG Week 23 2022

GLNG COMMENTARY GLNG

has booked.
“Why are we not filling it all? If we used end, a floating LNG terminal is planned in the
each interconnector in this way, we could dou- Gdansk Bay and, possibly, another one in the
ble the amount of gas imported to Poland in context of expected rise in gas demand from
relation to the needs. Diversification is also Czechia and Slovakia.
the ability to choose, not to use an option to The plans are causing friction with the
the maximum, but to leave some space to take pro-climate movement, which says that bet-
advantage of [future opportunities] while secur- ting too much on gas – regardless of its origin
ing the demand,” PGNiG’s deputy CEO Robert – unnecessarily locks Poland into fossil fuels.
Perkowski told Biznes Alert on May 19. The government’s response has been that ensur-
ing security of supply must be the key objec-
Piece of the puzzle tive before relying on renewables and nuclear
The Baltic Pipe is just one – even if a key – ele- becomes a reality.
ment of the gas supply puzzle that Poland has Poland has also strived to maintain a very
been putting together for some time now. high level of gas storage. At nearly 96% today,
On top of gas flowing through the Baltic Pipe, Polish gas storage tanks are the most-filled in
Warsaw expects to meet its annual demand of the EU.
roughly 20 bcm with LNG imports via the ter- “With the current level of supplies to the
minal in the north-western port of Swinoujscie, European market, Poland will be able to import
which will soon be capable of handling 7.5bcm gas from outside Russia not only through the
of gas annually. LNG terminals in Swinoujscie and Klaipeda
Poland also has some domestic production, and the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline, but also from
amounting to roughly 3 bcm a year. The country Germany via the reverse of the Yamal gas pipe-
has also a number of gas interconnectors – links line and [also via] gas pipelines from the Czech
between national gas grids of tis neighbours – Republic and Slovakia,” Biznes Alert wrote in an
with Germany, Lithuania, Slovakia, and the analysis.
Czech Republic, allowing it receive, or send, gas Russian supplies could be cut off entirely as
under the EU’s common gas market regulations. a result of the EU’s plans to end dependency on
On top of domestic production and imports, Russia, making delivers from outside of Russia
Poland still has plans to build more gas infra- crucial. That is when the Baltic Pipe’s strategic
structure to try to become CEE’s gas hub. To that importance could play out in full.™

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