Baltic Pipeline deal secures Poland's strategic interests

Polish Oil and Gas (PGNiG) yesterday initialled an agreement with Denmark's state-owned oil and gas company DONG on the supply of 16 billion cubic meters of gas over the next eight years. Currently, 90% of Poland's gas imports come from Russia, a state of affairs that contravenes the EU requirement that members obtain gas from diverse sources. The Danish gas will be transported to Poland along the 230-kilometer long Baltic Pipeline, which will be constructed by a consortium set up by the two countries. At a cost of some $290 million, the pipeline will link Denmark's eastern Zeland Island and the Polish coast. No announcement has been made concerning the price of the gas, which will begin flowing into Poland in two years, although transport minister Janusz Steinhoff insists that it is advantageous for Poland. Analysts say the gas pipeline deal is significant in securing Poland's strategic interests. Since gas pipelines have to be laid on the sea bed, they cannot cross one another. Therefore, the construction of the Polish-Danish Baltic Pipeline will effectively silence all Russian talk of establishing a direct sea-bed link with Germany, bypassing Poland. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 1, 22, Prawo i Gospodarka, p. 3) M.T.