Merrill Lynch buying Polish contract from Qatargas – paper

Qatari natural gas firm Qatargas has reportedly sold or is about to sell its contract for supplies to Poland to investment bank Merrill Lynch, according to sources quoted by Dziennik Gazeta Prawna. The sources said that such a change would make it more difficult for PGNiG, the Polish side of the contract, to renegotiate it. The company had earlier said that it would like to lower the contract LNG price. Neither Qatargas nor PGNiG provided any details in response to the daily’s questions. Merril Lynch and Poland’s Ministry of Economy left the query without reply. The contract between PGNiG and Qatargas stipulates for 20 years of LNG deliveries, some 1.5 billion cubic meters per year. The gas is to be transported through Poland’s new LNG terminal in Świnoujście, due to be completed by early 2015.