Coming down the pipelines of Scandinavia and Russia through to Poland

A pipeline connecting Norwegian gas fields with Poland' s Baltic coast will probably pass through Danish territory. Representatives of Norwegian Statoil, Danish DONG and Polish Oil and Gas (PGNiG) signed an agreement on BalticPipe, which will allow the flow of gas from the " large" Norwegian contract. Talks should be finished by the end of this year and the pipeline itself completed by October 2003. This month the first supply of Norwegian gas from the " small" Norwegian contract should arrive at the Polish-German border in Zgorzelec. By October 2001, 200 million cubic metres of Norwegian gas should arrive, and by 2006 this amount should increase to 500 million cubic metres yearly. According to the officials of DONG, BalticPipe should cost around euro 350 million. Another pipeline connecting Russia and the European Union (EU), heavily criticized by Poland because it excludes Ukraine, is considered a good idea by EU officials. " If Poland does not agree to gas transit through its territory, we will choose other solutions. We are considering options with or without Poland," said one European Commission official. (Rzeczpospolita, page B2, Gazeta Wyborcza, page 15)