Poland: another blow against Nord Stream 2

The polish office for competition and consumer protection (UOKiK) has inflicted financial penalties of more than 6 bn EUR on Gazprom and other companies involved in the pipeline construction; polish government hopes that to end the controversed project, writes german newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ):

After the attempted murder of Kremlin critic Alexej Nawalny and a decision by its anti-monopoly authorities, Poland is hoping for an end to the controversial Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream 2. A construction freeze is apparently possible, said Poland's Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau on Polish radio. Norbert Röttgen, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Bundestag, had previously also called for an immediate construction stop.

Poland has long been campaigning for a complete shutdown of Nord Stream 2, the 93 percent completion of which is being financed by Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom, the German companies Wintershall and Uniper, the Austrian OMV, the French Engie and the British-Dutch Shell. After the assassination attempt on Navalny with a neurotoxin by the Novichok group, "a key moment has come when we should all say that it makes no sense to pursue a project like Nord Stream 2 with Russia," said Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki to the EU Summit last week for an end to the Baltic Sea pipeline.

In addition to the political rejection by Warsaw, there are now possible billions in fines for Gazprom and millions in fines for its western partners - and probably years of disputes before Warsaw and European courts. On October 6, Poland's anti-monopoly authority UOKiK imposed a fine of almost 6.48 billion euros on Gazprom for alleged violations of Poland's anti-monopoly laws. Engie is to pay 12.4 million euros, Uniper 6.67 million, Wintershall 6.87 million, Shell 6.74 million and OMV 19.6 million. Gazprom and several partners have already announced lawsuits against the decision - it can take years to reach a decision.

The background to the UOKiK decision is a request from Gazprom and the five western partners in 2015: At that time, the companies asked Poland's anti-monopoly authority for approval of a planned joint venture for Nord Stream 2, in which Gazprom will hold half and the five western companies each hold ten percent should hold. According to UOKiK, Gazprom and its partners have recognized Polish jurisdiction and EU law.

But in 2016 the then UOKiK boss announced concerns about the planned joint venture: Nord Stream 2 would reduce competition on the gas market and increase Europe's dependence on Russian natural gas. As a result, the Russian monopoly and its partners withdrew the application in Warsaw in August 2016 - and in 2017 only signed two contracts for the joint financing of Nord Stream 2. However, according to today's UOKiK boss Tomasz Chróstny, these contracts constitute a de facto joint venture without If it had only been a question of financing, Gazprom could have borrowed the billions required for the construction of Nord Stream 2 (total cost: estimated 9.5 billion euros) from banks or the Russian government. The penalties now imposed, each corresponding to a tenth of the annual turnover, are the maximum possible penalty under Polish law. In addition, the companies should terminate their agreements within 30 days.

Gazprom said the Warsaw decision "violates the principles of legality, proportionality and fair trial" and announced a lawsuit; Shell did the same. The Warsaw Anti-Monopoly Court is initially responsible. Should Gazprom and its partners lose there and in an appeal, they should go to the EU Court of Justice. Kremlin spokesman Dmitrij Peskow said of the Warsaw decision that Russian-Polish relations were "not flourishing" anyway. One could therefore not assume that anything would have a negative effect on them.

After expiration of transit deal: Russian gas transit via Poland drys up

Reuters:

"Russian natural gas transit via the Yamal-Europe pipeline, which traverses Poland, has almost dried up, Interfax cited gas pipeline operators as saying on Monday, days after a gas transit deal between Moscow and Warsaw expired.

Russian gas giant Gazprom declined immediate comment.

The gas transit deal between Russia and Poland, dating back to the 1990s, expired on May 17 as Warsaw aligns its energy regulations with European Union rules and curbs its decades-old dependence on Russian fuel."

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-poland-gas/russian-gas-transit-via-poland-has-almost-halted-ifx-idUSKBN2311MF 

Poland receives LNG from Qatar

"Poland’s sole liquefied natural gas facility in Swinoujscie has received another shipment of LNG as the country is looking to further boost imports of the fuel.
The arrival of Nakilat’s 217,000-cbm Q-Flex LNG carrier Al Gattara on Thursday marks the 95th delivery to the Swinoujscie facility on the Baltic Sea.
The delivery is part of a long-term deal between Poland’s dominant gas firm PGNiG and LNG producing giant Qatargas. 
 PGNiG is in charge for all the supplies coming to the import terminal operated by Gaz-System’s unit Polskie LNG.
Poland has significantly increased LNG purchases via its terminal in Swinoujscie following PGNiG deals with Qatargas and US player Cheniere.
The move is a part of reducing the country’s decades-old reliance on Russian pipeline gas but also cutting dependence on coal."

Writes Offshore-Energy. You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://www.offshore-energy.biz/poland-receives-another-lng-shipment/

 

GIPL: will LNG flow to Lithuania from Poland?

Biznesalert writes:

"Lithuanian Minister of Energy Žygimantas Vaičiūnas suggested that LNG could reach Belarus and his country through Poland. He revealed that an analysis of the use of the Poland-Lithuania Gas Pipeline for this purpose is underway, and it will end in August this year.

– It should be emphasized that we have good cooperation in the entire energy sector between Poland and Lithuania. We have good cooperation in the construction of the Poland-Lithuania Gas Pipeline, we also have cooperation between PGNiG and Klaipedos Nafta at the transhipment station since April – the minister calculated."

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://biznesalert.com/ministry-climate-electromobility-financing/ 

Yamal pipeline: end of transit contract gives Poland leverage

Wojciech Jakobik writes in Biznesalert.pl:

"The political contract that defined the terms and conditions of gas transit via the Polish section of the Yamal gas pipeline will end on 16 May 2020. From then on the pipeline will enter its new normal, as the old contract rules will be replaced with EU regulations that ensure access to the pipe’s capacity in Poland on the basis of auctions."

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://biznesalert.com/poland-russia-yamal-gas-pipeline-gazprom/ 

Poland: parliament implements EU-gas-directive; thwart Nord Stream 2

Biznesalert writes:

"On May 13, 2020, the Act amending the Act – Energy Law and the act on the promotion of electricity from high-efficiency cogeneration, adopted unanimously in the Sejm and Senate, comes into force. It introduces the provisions of the revised gas directive into Polish law. The amended Act aims to implement into the Polish legal order the provisions of the amended Gas Directive, adopted after two years of efforts by the coalition of member states built by the Polish Government. Climate Minister Michał Kurtyka argues that the adopted changes allow the use of gas pipelines from third countries (e.g. disputed Nord Stream 2) the most important pillars of EU law.- This means the end of preferential treatment of gas infrastructure from third countries and its functioning in legal vacuum – said Michał Kurtyka in the Ministry’s announcement."

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://biznesalert.com/poland-gas-directive-nord-stream-2-energy-pern-oil/

Poland ends gas procurement from Gazprom by 2022

Polish State energy company PGNiG announced that it will allow the gas procurement contract with Gazprom to expire by the end of the year 2022.

Instead PGNiG concluded agreements for LNG with USA, Qatar and Norway and will develop the LNG-terminal in Świnoujście.

It also entered in a partnership with Denmark and develop a pipeline, the "Baltic Pipe" to obtain gas from Norway.

See more information here:

https://www.polskieradio.pl/400/7764/Artykul/2404133,Ab-2022-wird-Polen-kein-russisches-Gas-mehr-importieren