Page 7 - Euroil Week 33 2019
P. 7
EurOil PIPELINES & TRANSPORT EurOil
Romania imports more gas in Q2 to cover stronger demand
ROMANIA
Romania imports gas now, but is hoping to become a net exporter after the launch of some Black Sea elds.
ROMANIA’S natural gas imports rose sharply on an annual basis to 298,000 tonnes of oil equiv- alent (toe) in Q2 this year, up 100 times y/y, but they accounted for only 13% of total consump- tion including for storage purposes, according to data from the statistics o ce INS.
Higher imports were caused by natural gas consumption that increased signi cantly in Q2 compared to the same period last year: by 12.2%, or by 248,000 toe in absolute terms. Natural gas companies are compelled to meet higher man- datory reserves requirements, under the emer- gency decree 114/2018, which partly explain the strong demand that occurred amid decreasing activity in the manufacturing industries.
Some industrial consumers using natural gas have resumed operations, despite the e ects of the new regulations enforced under OUG 114/2018, which was blamed for distorting the gas market. Local gas producers, forced to com- pete with imported gas, were not able to raise prices inde nitely to o set what they claim to be
the losses incurred from the regulated prices on the residential market, and had to cut their out- put by 2.4% y/y in Q2.
Local investor Ioan Niculae resumed operations at one of the six chemical plants he owns. He said that the chemical plant Viromet will use imported natural gas, which is cheaper and more reliable compared to what he could have purchased from the domestic market, Economica.net reported in early July. Later in August, Niculae found a buyer for the company.
OUG 114/2018, which “perplexed” the nat- ural gas market, put Romania in a unique situ- ation, Economica.net commented. For the nal consumers it is not necessarily bad news, at least for the moment, the daily admitted: imported gas has been cheaper compared to the gas traded locally on the open market (RON82.1 or €17.3 per MWh, 8% lower than last June). e price of the gas on the local market was in May-June RON101.2 per MWh.
US Solar Turbines to deliver units for Baltic Pipe gas link
POLAND
Baltic Pipe is a strategic project aimed at helping Poland move away from Russian gas reliance.
POLISH gas operator Gaz-System signed an agreement with US manufacturer Solar Turbines for the supply and service of set of compressor units for the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline on August 14, the company announced in its press release. e contract is one of the largest of this type in Polish gas industry history.
“ e Baltic Pipe Project is important not only for Poland but also for all of the European Union as it creates possibilities for the emergence of competitive gas market in this part of Europe,” said the Governmental Plenipotentiary for Crit- ical Energy Infrastructure Piotr Naimski, adding that the contract was one of the elements of gas sourcing diversi cation strategy being imple- mented by the Polish government, building Pol- ish energy independence.
Within 18 to 20 months, the total of ten com- pressor components with the capacity between 5 and 10 MW will be delivered, three to the Goleniow Compressor Station, three to Gus- torzyn and four to Odolanow.
“ e contract ... constitutes yet another mile- stone achieved by Gaz-System under the Baltic Pipe Program. e contracted equipment will
provide sufficient capacity enabling efficient distribution of increased gas volumes imported to Poland through the President Lech Kaczynski LNG Terminal, Baltic Pipe and, in the future, the FSRU (Floating Storage and Regasi cation Unit) located in the Bay of Gdansk,” commented the President of Gaz-System Tomasz Stepien.
Baltic Pipe is a strategic investment aimed at creating a key energy infrastructure project set to reduce Poland’s dependence on Russian gas imports, linking Norwegian gas elds operated by state-controlled oil and gas company PGNiG to Poland via Denmark.
In January, the European Commission approved the nancial support for the construc- tion works at nearly €215mn. Since 2015, the project has been granted EU nancing worth €266.8mn.
Gaz-System, which also owns Polskie LNG, the operator of the president Lech Kaczynski’s LNG Terminal in Swinoujscie, is responsible for natural gas transmission and operates the most important gas pipelines in the country. It plans to build over 2,000 km of new gas pipelines in west- ern, southern and eastern parts of Poland.
Week 33 22•August•2019 w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m P7
