No delays to the Baltic Pipe - Naimski

The construction of the Baltic Pipe subsea section will start in spring 2020 and will last 24 months - said the government plenipotentiary for strategic energy infrastructure Piotr Naimski. He added that the project is carried out without delay. “The Baltic Pipe project is being conducted without delays. A construction agreement will be signed by the end of this year and this will be equal to a final investment decision,” Naimski said, and added that “there are no threats to the deadline.” The pipeline final route should be known this month, he added. Currently, there are two variants of the route, northern - through Polish, Danish and Swedish waters to Denmark, or in the southern variant - through Polish, German and Danish waters. “Both variants are tested in parallel,” Naimski explained. The 2022 deadline is crucial, as the current long-term deal with Gazprom expires that year. Poland sees the Baltic Pipe project, which will deliver 10 bcm of gas from the North Sea to Poland, as its opportunity to free itself from Russian gas. If the project is delayed, Poland would be forced to sign a new deal with Gazprom. The project will cost between €1.6 – 2.2 billion and could become operational by 2022.