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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Poland has opened a new gas pipeline with neighboring Lithuania just weeks after Russia cut off gas supplies to the country and has promised that it will be able to phase out Russian oil and gas from its mix by the end of this year.
The 522-kilometer Gas Interconnection Poland--Lithuania (GIPL), was launched by Poland's Minister of Climate and Environment Anna Moskwa. Co-funded by the European Union (EU) to the tune of 266 million euro (US$280 million) the interconnector connects the gas transmission systems of Poland and Lithuania. Initially, the pipeline has the ability to transport 1.9 billion cubic meters (Bcm) per year of gas from Lithuania to Poland--roughly 10% of Poland's needs--while gas transportation capacity from Poland to Lithuania will be 2 Bcm. Gas flows from Poland will increase to 2.5 Bcm in October when the link is at full capacity. It is a key project supported by the EU's Trans-European Networks for Energy (TEN-E) policy that is focused on linking the energy infrastructure in all parts of the EU through Projects of Common Interest (PCIs).
Moskwa said: "As planned, gas from Lithuania is flowing to Poland. Poland is safe in terms of energy."
Nemunas Biknius, chief executive officer of Amber Grid, Lithuania's main gas grid operator, added: "The GIPL gas pipeline is a milestone in the history of the development of energy independence between Lithuania and Poland. Having the possibility to import and export gas through the interconnector, Lithuania and Poland have increased not only their own energy security but also that of the Baltic States and Finland."
The issue of Europe's heavy reliance on Russian gas was brought into sharp focus in recent weeks when Russia's state-owned Gazprom cut off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria. The company claimed it was due to the refusal by both countries to pay for upcoming gas supplies in Russia's currency, the ruble, whose value has been impacted by European sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Russian president, Vladimir Putin, announced in March that EU countries would have to pay in rubles, but this would violate EU economic sanctions put in place in recent months. Following the stoppage, the EU has proposed banning all Russian oil imports.
Industrial Info is tracking a number of additional pipeline projects involving Poland that will help the country--and its Balkan neighbors--reduce their reliance on Russian imports. The Baltic Pipe offshore project will link Denmark and Poland via a 275-kilometer offshore pipeline, capable of transporting 10 Bcm of gas annually from the North Sea to Denmark and Poland, and 3 Bcm per annum from Poland to Denmark. That volume will cover 60% of the gas currently supplied from Russia to Poland via the Yamal pipeline. It will be commissioned in October. The 165-kilometer Poland-Slovakia gas interconnection is mostly complete and is a high-pressure, bi-directional pipeline capable of transporting between 5-6 Bcm annually. Meanwhile, leaders in Poland and the Czech Republic have agreed to reopen talks on construction of the Stork II gas pipeline that would connect both countries, a project that was abandoned a few years ago. The Czech Republic is more than 90% dependent on Russian gas and fears that its supplies will be cut off also if they fail to pay for supplies in rubles in the coming weeks.
EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson, speaking at the launch of the Poland-Lithuania connector, said: "Today's interconnection is another step in helping this region to be fully integrated into the internal EU energy market, diversifying away from Russian gas. This has become all the more important following Russia's unilateral decision to disrupt gas supplies to Poland and the decision of the Baltic States not to import Russian gas. Further elements for reducing our dependence on Russian fossil fuels will follow with the REPowerEU package before the end of May."
In the short term, Europe has no way to quickly replace the volumes of Russian gas with alternative supplies but the commission has outlined how Europe will be independent from Russian fossil fuels well before 2030, starting with natural gas. The proposed REPowerEU plan revealed in mid-March will seek to diversify gas supplies, speed up the roll-out of renewable gasses and replace gas in heating and power generation. This can reduce European Union demand for Russian gas by two-thirds before the end of this year, the commission claimed, and the region can phase out its dependence on fossil fuels from Russia "well before 2030. A fortnight later, the EU inked a major deal with the U.S. for the supply of extra LNG. The U.S. has agreed to supply at least 15 billion cubic meters (Bcm) of LNG to EU countries by the end of 2022. This will effectively replace the amount of LNG that Europe traditionally gets from Russia. Looking ahead the U.S. will supply an additional 50 billion cubic meters of LNG until 2030. For additional information, see March 16, 2022, article--Europe Plans to Cut Russia From Energy Mix and March 30, 2022, article--Europe Strikes Major LNG Deal with U.S..
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the world's leading provider of market intelligence across the upstream, midstream and downstream energy markets and all other major industrial markets. IIR's Global Market Intelligence Platform (GMI) supports our end-users across their core businesses, and helps them connect trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated project opportunities. Follow IIR on: LinkedIn.
The 522-kilometer Gas Interconnection Poland--Lithuania (GIPL), was launched by Poland's Minister of Climate and Environment Anna Moskwa. Co-funded by the European Union (EU) to the tune of 266 million euro (US$280 million) the interconnector connects the gas transmission systems of Poland and Lithuania. Initially, the pipeline has the ability to transport 1.9 billion cubic meters (Bcm) per year of gas from Lithuania to Poland--roughly 10% of Poland's needs--while gas transportation capacity from Poland to Lithuania will be 2 Bcm. Gas flows from Poland will increase to 2.5 Bcm in October when the link is at full capacity. It is a key project supported by the EU's Trans-European Networks for Energy (TEN-E) policy that is focused on linking the energy infrastructure in all parts of the EU through Projects of Common Interest (PCIs).
Moskwa said: "As planned, gas from Lithuania is flowing to Poland. Poland is safe in terms of energy."
Nemunas Biknius, chief executive officer of Amber Grid, Lithuania's main gas grid operator, added: "The GIPL gas pipeline is a milestone in the history of the development of energy independence between Lithuania and Poland. Having the possibility to import and export gas through the interconnector, Lithuania and Poland have increased not only their own energy security but also that of the Baltic States and Finland."
The issue of Europe's heavy reliance on Russian gas was brought into sharp focus in recent weeks when Russia's state-owned Gazprom cut off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria. The company claimed it was due to the refusal by both countries to pay for upcoming gas supplies in Russia's currency, the ruble, whose value has been impacted by European sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Russian president, Vladimir Putin, announced in March that EU countries would have to pay in rubles, but this would violate EU economic sanctions put in place in recent months. Following the stoppage, the EU has proposed banning all Russian oil imports.
Industrial Info is tracking a number of additional pipeline projects involving Poland that will help the country--and its Balkan neighbors--reduce their reliance on Russian imports. The Baltic Pipe offshore project will link Denmark and Poland via a 275-kilometer offshore pipeline, capable of transporting 10 Bcm of gas annually from the North Sea to Denmark and Poland, and 3 Bcm per annum from Poland to Denmark. That volume will cover 60% of the gas currently supplied from Russia to Poland via the Yamal pipeline. It will be commissioned in October. The 165-kilometer Poland-Slovakia gas interconnection is mostly complete and is a high-pressure, bi-directional pipeline capable of transporting between 5-6 Bcm annually. Meanwhile, leaders in Poland and the Czech Republic have agreed to reopen talks on construction of the Stork II gas pipeline that would connect both countries, a project that was abandoned a few years ago. The Czech Republic is more than 90% dependent on Russian gas and fears that its supplies will be cut off also if they fail to pay for supplies in rubles in the coming weeks.
EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson, speaking at the launch of the Poland-Lithuania connector, said: "Today's interconnection is another step in helping this region to be fully integrated into the internal EU energy market, diversifying away from Russian gas. This has become all the more important following Russia's unilateral decision to disrupt gas supplies to Poland and the decision of the Baltic States not to import Russian gas. Further elements for reducing our dependence on Russian fossil fuels will follow with the REPowerEU package before the end of May."
In the short term, Europe has no way to quickly replace the volumes of Russian gas with alternative supplies but the commission has outlined how Europe will be independent from Russian fossil fuels well before 2030, starting with natural gas. The proposed REPowerEU plan revealed in mid-March will seek to diversify gas supplies, speed up the roll-out of renewable gasses and replace gas in heating and power generation. This can reduce European Union demand for Russian gas by two-thirds before the end of this year, the commission claimed, and the region can phase out its dependence on fossil fuels from Russia "well before 2030. A fortnight later, the EU inked a major deal with the U.S. for the supply of extra LNG. The U.S. has agreed to supply at least 15 billion cubic meters (Bcm) of LNG to EU countries by the end of 2022. This will effectively replace the amount of LNG that Europe traditionally gets from Russia. Looking ahead the U.S. will supply an additional 50 billion cubic meters of LNG until 2030. For additional information, see March 16, 2022, article--Europe Plans to Cut Russia From Energy Mix and March 30, 2022, article--Europe Strikes Major LNG Deal with U.S..
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the world's leading provider of market intelligence across the upstream, midstream and downstream energy markets and all other major industrial markets. IIR's Global Market Intelligence Platform (GMI) supports our end-users across their core businesses, and helps them connect trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated project opportunities. Follow IIR on: LinkedIn.
