Polish-Norwegian gas deal delayed by several months due to stall in talks

National gas monopoly Polish Gas and Oil Mining (PGNiG) failed to reach an agreement with Statoil before the end of 2000 regarding the delivery of Norwegian natural gas to Poland, which could mean a delay of several months in signing the deal. When the Prime Ministers of Norway and Poland signed a letter of intent on gas deliveries, they gave the two companies until the end of 2000 to work out the details, with the official signing of the deal expected in January 2001. Now these plans are in turmoil as the talks reached an impasse. One of the main reasons was the demand by the Norwegian side for the Polish government to guarantee gas delivery contracts. A special task-force is to prepare a protocol of differences between the two sides, and then the governments of both countries will decide what to do with them. (Rzeczpospolita, p.B1). T.J.