Post by Jaga on Nov 17, 2005 20:48:40 GMT -7
I just searched through news from Poland and there was quite a lot informations about Polish- Russian relationships. So I am not sure that if we create Russian folder I should post it here or there 
Poland intends to cut reliance on Russian gas
By Judy Dempsey International Herald Tribune
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2005
BERLIN Moving to bolster its energy security, Poland is set to become the first East European country to try to reduce its dependence on Russian natural gas imports by increasing its sources, according to government officials involved in Poland's energy sector.
The plans, still in the early stages, would entail Poland buying natural gas from Germany and Norway and constructing a large liquefied natural gas terminal near Gdansk, close to the German border.
"Poland is developing an energy strategy aimed at diversifying its energy supplies," said Zbigniew Kamienski, deputy director in the department of energy security at Poland's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Labor. "We want to diversify our natural gas imports," he said during an interview.
Poland imports 5.7 billion cubic meters, or 61 percent of its natural gas supplies from Gazprom, Russia's state-owned natural gas company.
Coal, which is produced domestically, is still the largest supplier of Poland's energy needs, accounting for around 60 percent. Natural gas covers only 11.7 percent.
But because natural gas will rise to 20 percent by 2025, according to estimates by the economy ministry, Poland is eager to seek new sources.
With prices for natural gas and oil at record highs, Russia last month said it would consider raising its natural gas prices to Poland, although Poland's Economy Ministry said it was unclear whether the prices could be renegotiated. In a long-term contract that Poland signed with Gazprom in 1996, the Russian company agreed to supply Poland with 167 billion cubic meters until 2022.
The reason why Poland wants to diversify its gas imports is not just because of the rising prices. Polish officials said the country's newly elected conservative government believes that President Vladimir Putin of Russia is using his country's vast energy reserves to exert influence in the region.
Gazprom, for example, has spent the past few years buying gas distribution companies and terminals throughout Eastern Europe and the Baltic states to control prices and gain direct access to the energy markets of countries that joined the European Union in 2004.
More recently, Gazprom signed a contract with two of Germany's biggest natural gas companies to build the North European Pipeline under the Baltic Sea. The pipeline would allow Russia to sell and deliver natural gas directly to Western Europe, bypassing Poland.
Iwona Wisniewska, a Russia expert at the Center for Eastern Studies in Warsaw, which is funded by the Polish Foreign Ministry, said once the North European Pipeline was built, Poland would lose its status as a transit country for Russian natural gas exports to Europe and a bargaining chip with the larger country. "That is one of the reasons why the new government wants to diversify its gas imports," Wisniewska said.
But diversification was easier said than done. "The driving force behind the need for diversification is energy security. But for the moment, the only way for Poland is to buy gas from Russia. The other options are costly and difficult to implement," Wisniewska said.
Kamienski, from the Economy Ministry, there also were plans to develop domestic natural gas resources. "We want to diversify our natural gas imports, for instance using gas from Ukraine and opening discussions to increase Norwegian natural gas consumption. There is also the possibility of developing LNG" or liquefied natural gas, he said.
Poland's natural gas company, PGNiG, has signed a contract with Verbundnetz Gas, a natural gas trading and energy service provider in eastern Germany. Markus Wild, a spokesman for the company, said Verbundnetz Gas and PGNiG had set up a joint trading company in which Germany will sell gas to Poland.
Importing natural gas from Norway will be more difficult.
Poland first started negotiations in the mid-1990s but the plan was shelved when a leftist government was elected in Warsaw.
The Energy Regulatory Authority, which oversees tariffs and prices in Poland, said Norwegian natural gas would be more expensive than Russian gas at the time.
Roland Götz, an energy and Russian expert at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, said he was skeptical that Poland could raise financing for a pipeline that would link the countries.
BERLIN Moving to bolster its energy security, Poland is set to become the first East European country to try to reduce its dependence on Russian natural gas imports by increasing its sources, according to government officials involved in Poland's energy sector.
The plans, still in the early stages, would entail Poland buying natural gas from Germany and Norway and constructing a large liquefied natural gas terminal near Gdansk, close to the German border.
"Poland is developing an energy strategy aimed at diversifying its energy supplies," said Zbigniew Kamienski, deputy director in the department of energy security at Poland's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Labor. "We want to diversify our natural gas imports," he said during an interview.
Poland imports 5.7 billion cubic meters, or 61 percent of its natural gas supplies from Gazprom, Russia's state-owned natural gas company.
Coal, which is produced domestically, is still the largest supplier of Poland's energy needs, accounting for around 60 percent. Natural gas covers only 11.7 percent.
But because natural gas will rise to 20 percent by 2025, according to estimates by the economy ministry, Poland is eager to seek new sources.
With prices for natural gas and oil at record highs, Russia last month said it would consider raising its natural gas prices to Poland, although Poland's Economy Ministry said it was unclear whether the prices could be renegotiated. In a long-term contract that Poland signed with Gazprom in 1996, the Russian company agreed to supply Poland with 167 billion cubic meters until 2022.
www.iht.com/articles/2005/11/17/business/web.gas.php
Poland intends to cut reliance on Russian gas
By Judy Dempsey International Herald Tribune
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2005
BERLIN Moving to bolster its energy security, Poland is set to become the first East European country to try to reduce its dependence on Russian natural gas imports by increasing its sources, according to government officials involved in Poland's energy sector.
The plans, still in the early stages, would entail Poland buying natural gas from Germany and Norway and constructing a large liquefied natural gas terminal near Gdansk, close to the German border.
"Poland is developing an energy strategy aimed at diversifying its energy supplies," said Zbigniew Kamienski, deputy director in the department of energy security at Poland's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Labor. "We want to diversify our natural gas imports," he said during an interview.
Poland imports 5.7 billion cubic meters, or 61 percent of its natural gas supplies from Gazprom, Russia's state-owned natural gas company.
Coal, which is produced domestically, is still the largest supplier of Poland's energy needs, accounting for around 60 percent. Natural gas covers only 11.7 percent.
But because natural gas will rise to 20 percent by 2025, according to estimates by the economy ministry, Poland is eager to seek new sources.
With prices for natural gas and oil at record highs, Russia last month said it would consider raising its natural gas prices to Poland, although Poland's Economy Ministry said it was unclear whether the prices could be renegotiated. In a long-term contract that Poland signed with Gazprom in 1996, the Russian company agreed to supply Poland with 167 billion cubic meters until 2022.
The reason why Poland wants to diversify its gas imports is not just because of the rising prices. Polish officials said the country's newly elected conservative government believes that President Vladimir Putin of Russia is using his country's vast energy reserves to exert influence in the region.
Gazprom, for example, has spent the past few years buying gas distribution companies and terminals throughout Eastern Europe and the Baltic states to control prices and gain direct access to the energy markets of countries that joined the European Union in 2004.
More recently, Gazprom signed a contract with two of Germany's biggest natural gas companies to build the North European Pipeline under the Baltic Sea. The pipeline would allow Russia to sell and deliver natural gas directly to Western Europe, bypassing Poland.
Iwona Wisniewska, a Russia expert at the Center for Eastern Studies in Warsaw, which is funded by the Polish Foreign Ministry, said once the North European Pipeline was built, Poland would lose its status as a transit country for Russian natural gas exports to Europe and a bargaining chip with the larger country. "That is one of the reasons why the new government wants to diversify its gas imports," Wisniewska said.
But diversification was easier said than done. "The driving force behind the need for diversification is energy security. But for the moment, the only way for Poland is to buy gas from Russia. The other options are costly and difficult to implement," Wisniewska said.
Kamienski, from the Economy Ministry, there also were plans to develop domestic natural gas resources. "We want to diversify our natural gas imports, for instance using gas from Ukraine and opening discussions to increase Norwegian natural gas consumption. There is also the possibility of developing LNG" or liquefied natural gas, he said.
Poland's natural gas company, PGNiG, has signed a contract with Verbundnetz Gas, a natural gas trading and energy service provider in eastern Germany. Markus Wild, a spokesman for the company, said Verbundnetz Gas and PGNiG had set up a joint trading company in which Germany will sell gas to Poland.
Importing natural gas from Norway will be more difficult.
Poland first started negotiations in the mid-1990s but the plan was shelved when a leftist government was elected in Warsaw.
The Energy Regulatory Authority, which oversees tariffs and prices in Poland, said Norwegian natural gas would be more expensive than Russian gas at the time.
Roland Götz, an energy and Russian expert at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, said he was skeptical that Poland could raise financing for a pipeline that would link the countries.
BERLIN Moving to bolster its energy security, Poland is set to become the first East European country to try to reduce its dependence on Russian natural gas imports by increasing its sources, according to government officials involved in Poland's energy sector.
The plans, still in the early stages, would entail Poland buying natural gas from Germany and Norway and constructing a large liquefied natural gas terminal near Gdansk, close to the German border.
"Poland is developing an energy strategy aimed at diversifying its energy supplies," said Zbigniew Kamienski, deputy director in the department of energy security at Poland's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Labor. "We want to diversify our natural gas imports," he said during an interview.
Poland imports 5.7 billion cubic meters, or 61 percent of its natural gas supplies from Gazprom, Russia's state-owned natural gas company.
Coal, which is produced domestically, is still the largest supplier of Poland's energy needs, accounting for around 60 percent. Natural gas covers only 11.7 percent.
But because natural gas will rise to 20 percent by 2025, according to estimates by the economy ministry, Poland is eager to seek new sources.
With prices for natural gas and oil at record highs, Russia last month said it would consider raising its natural gas prices to Poland, although Poland's Economy Ministry said it was unclear whether the prices could be renegotiated. In a long-term contract that Poland signed with Gazprom in 1996, the Russian company agreed to supply Poland with 167 billion cubic meters until 2022.
www.iht.com/articles/2005/11/17/business/web.gas.php
