Second Russian gas pipeline across Poland in question

The management of Gazprom has decided to launch the construction of the North European Gas Pipe (SEG) from Russia under the Finnish Gulf and the Baltic Sea to Western Europe, the Russian press agency RIA Nowosti reported on Monday. The decision could mean that Gazprom may cancel its plans to construct a second Yamal gas pipeline. For the Polish Oil and Gas (PGNiG) the bad news means the loss of the revenues it would have earned from pumping more that 50 billion cubic meters of gas annually across Poland. "The Polish side has not been informed about these plans," said deputy Economy Minister Marek Kossowski. However, according to a government analyst, Gazprom is unlikely to omit Poland as gas transmission via Poland is the cheapest solution. In related news, Deputy Russian Prime Minister Wiktor Christienko came to Poland yesterday to discuss Polish - Russian cooperation on the power industry with Prime Minister Leszek Miller. (Parkiet, p. 3; Puls Biznesu, p. 10) A.Z.