– According to the schedule the entire project should be completed in September 2022, including securing the operational permits so that the first commercial transmission of gas could start in October 2022 - declares Stępień. Torben Brabo, director for international relations at Energinet, a company responsible for the construction of the Baltic Pipe on the Danish side assured that this part of the gas pipeline will be completed on time as well. In this situation, nothing should prevent the gas, which is already being produced by PGNiG in Norway, from directly reaching Polish recipients. Moreover, the volumes of obtained gas should increase significantly soon. All thanks to the ongoing acquisition of Ineos E&P Norge, which owns 22 concessions in Norway, including three fields in the exploitation phase.
After the finalization of the acquisition, PGNiG will have 58 licenses in that region. As a result, it will increase production to approx. 2.5 billion cubic meters. from 0.9 billion cubic meters planned to be acquired this year. In the peak period, i.e. in 2027, it will be approx. 4 billion cubic meters. - This means that our own resources will enable us to use about half of the Baltic Pipe capacity reserved by us. The production estimates may be even higher, because by acquiring Ineos E&P Norge, we also become the owners of the concessions on which the exploration of new deposits is carried out - says Artur Cieślik, vice-president for strategy and regulation at PGNiG. He adds that in addition to the gas produced by the company, the Baltic Pipe will also receive gas purchased in Norway from other companies.
Biomethane and hydrogen
Poland needs additional quantities of the raw material not only as a consequence of the expiry of the Yamal contract, but also to meet the growing demand of the domestic economy. - Without stable, diversified gas supplies, it will not be possible to build sufficiently stable power capacities in the energy system. It will be a sort of a stabilizer of the power system and heating system to enable further development, either in renewable energy or in areas such as local balancing and energy storage - says Paweł Pikus, director of the Electricity and Gas Department at the Ministry of Climate and Environment. He adds that the developing economy needs further investments, also after the completion of such important projects as the Baltic Pipe. These will probably still be supported by the EU, but more towards the so-called greener gas, i.e. towards the development of technologies and infrastructure for the production and distribution of biomethane or hydrogen.
- Decarbonization of the gas sector, i.e. removing CO2 emissions from it, is a way to survive in the thirties and forties. In the twenties, it may still be possible to build gas production and transmission infrastructure, but it will become increasingly difficult due to the acceleration of climate policy - says Wojciech Jakóbik, editor-in-chief of BiznesAlert.pl. For this reason, he already calls to think about projects that would allow to utilize the current and planned infrastructure for the development of the market for new ecological raw materials.
Until the new energy resources that meet the conditions of the EU climate policy become common on the market, investments aimed at increasing LNG supplies are necessary as well. In Polish conditions, this means the expansion of the gas terminal in Świnoujście and the construction of the FSRU floating terminal in the Gdańsk region. These investments will allow Poland not only to increase its maximum gas import capacity, but above all enable our country to obtain it from various producers worldwide. Gaz-System informs that the annual regasification capacity of the terminal in Świnoujście will be expanded to approx. 8.3 billion cubic meters by the end of 2023. In turn, the FSRU, which will be built a few years later, may reach a capacity of at least 4.5 billion cubic meters. - We are currently at the stage of consulting the documentation with the market on this matter, and next year we will sign contracts and decide what parameters should be met by this ship - whether it should be capable of accepting and unloading 30, 40, 50, or maybe more ships with LNG per year - says Stępień.
Important diversification
Since the launch of the terminal in Świnoujście, PGNiG has so far imported almost 140 ships with LNG, which delivered a total of over 15 billion cubic meters of fuel after regasification. These amounts are increasing year by year and the company would like to continue this upward trend. This is facilitated, among others, by a recently signed contract with companies from the Venture Global group for additional LNG supplies from the USA. - Under this agreement, we will be able to deliver nearly 7.5 billion cubic meters gas after regasification per year. The extension of the terminal in Świnoujście and in the further future of the FSRU in the Bay of Gdańsk will allow more gas carriers to be able to come to Poland - argues Cieślik. After 2024, the company’s LNG import portfolio will include approx. 12 billion cubic meters of gas after regasification.
