Europe (bbabo.net), - At the end of September, the Baltic Gas Pipeline was solemnly opened in Poland from Norway through Denmark. It should become an alternative to Russian gas supplies. However, so far, gas from Germany is supplied through the gas pipeline. Previously, he went in reverse along the Yamal - Europe.
According to the platform of GTS operators of the EU countries ENTSOG, from October 1, gas supplies to Poland began via the Baltic Gas Pipeline. Thus, 5.8 million cubic meters are supplied daily through the Faxe point.
“As promised 6 years ago, we kept our word. At 06.10 gas transit through the Baltic Gas Pipeline began. As of October 1, the daily nomination is 5.9 million cubic meters,” the operator Baltic Pipe reports on Twitter.
However, this is not Norwegian gas at all. As the Norwegian GTS operator Gassco points out, there are no physical flows through the Nybro point to the Baltic Gas Pipeline. Judging by ENTSOG data, gas is supplied to the pipeline from Germany, which was previously supplied in reverse through Yamal - Europe. Since October 1, Poland has been receiving 1.5 million cubic meters per day through the Malnow point on the German-Polish border, while in the last days of September, deliveries were at the level of 14 million cubic meters. At the same time, gas flows from Germany to Denmark increased in October to 9.7 million cubic meters per day instead of 3 million cubic meters on average in September.
Obviously, Poland and Denmark are testing the operation of the section of the Baltic Gas Pipeline across the Baltic Sea, since supplies from Norway are physically impossible.
The Danish operator Energinet reports that it will be able to launch its site in full at the end of November. A year and a half ago, the Danish Environment and Food Appeals Board withdrew the Danish operator's environmental permit and demanded a new one, which would take into account conservation measures for certain animal species. As a result, at some sites in Denmark, construction was stopped for 9 months. And real deliveries did not begin on October 1.
As bbabo.net reported, the Baltic Gas Pipeline should become an alternative to Russian gas supplies to Poland. The capacity of the gas pipeline from Norway to Poland will be 10 billion cubic meters, which corresponds to the Russian-Polish contract. However, Poland's PGNiG, which has reserved 80% of the gas pipeline's capacity, reported that its own production in Norway and the Danish contract would allow only 3.5 billion cubic meters to be supplied in the first year. However, the delay in the launch of the Danish field forced to reduce forecasts to 3 billion cubic meters.
In the second half of September, the Norwegian Equinor announced the signing of a long-term contract with the Polish PGNiG.
“The agreement is designed for 10 years with a volume of about 2.4 billion cubic meters per year with transportation through the Baltic Gas Pipeline,” Equinor said in a statement. The Norwegian company clarified that the cost of gas for Poland will reflect the market price, and the volumes are equivalent to 15% of consumption in Poland.
Now the project load can be increased from 30% to 54-64%. However, this will not improve the gas supply to all of Europe, Aleksey Grivach, deputy director of the National Energy Security Fund (NESF), told bbabo.net.
“Norwegian gas production is operating at its limit and even slightly higher, given the delayed repairs and the reduction in technical gas injection into the reservoir, which made it possible to increase the recovery of oil reserves,” the expert said. “Therefore, in order to supply additional volumes to Poland, these volumes will have to be removed from gas pipelines going to Western Europe and the UK.”
bbabo.Net