After Russia cut off Warsaw’s supplies, a new pipeline carrying Norwegian gas through Denmark was opened in Poland on Tuesday. This strengthened Europe’s energy security.
Poland has been working for years to reduce its reliance on Russian gas. Which once accounted for two-thirds of its yearly consumption.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine this year. The Russian energy behemoth Gazprom completely stopped supplying after Polish gas company PGNiG refused to pay its bill in rubles.
The energy business in the region has been completely disrupted by Gazprom’s suspension of deliveries to other European nations.
Signing Ceremony
Norwegian Energy Minister Terje Aasland described the project as “a milestone on the essential path towards European independence from Russian energy” at a ceremony in western Poland.
The ceremony took place at the same time as reports of a slew of mystery leaks on the two Nord Stream pipelines. Which connect Russia to Europe across the Baltic Sea.
At the ceremony in Budno, Poland, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said. “The very worrying events of yesterday with leaks from Nord Stream I and II emphasise the need of enhancing our energy security in Europe”.
She noted that it was “strange” for them to occur so far apart from one another and stated it was “hard to think“. That the three leaks were “accidental.”
According to her, the opening of the pipeline in Poland “marks an important geopolitical milestone for all of us.”
She continued, “We must do all in our power to eliminate energy as a Russian weapon of power.
President Vladimir Putin “Putin divides us by using Russian energy as a weapon to destabilise Europe. We cannot allow him to be successful, “said Frederiksen.
Andrzej Duda, the president of Poland, referred to the new pipeline as “a Polish dream.” While Mateusz Morawiecki, the prime minister, declared that “the age of Russian gas dominance is end.“
Baltic Pipe, a connection to the Europipe II that connects Germany and Norway, has an annual capacity of 10 billion cubic metres.
According to a statement from PGNiG, the pipeline will transport 6.5 billion cubic metres of gas in 2023, and 7.7 billion in 2024.
Polish Experts, Delaying Contract Signing.
Poland signed a contract earlier this month with the massive Equinor of Norway for 2.4 billion metres annually, or almost 15% of its total usage, from 2023 to 2033.
Polish experts, however, have criticised the government for delaying contract signing for too long and incurring a disproportionately high cost for Norwegian gas as a result.
The Baltic Pipe project has experienced numerous delays over the years despite being plane for years.
The 900-kilometer (559-mile) pipeline was eventually put into construction in 2018. But because to environmental concerns, work was halted in 2021.
However, days after Russia invaded, the pipeline project was give a fresh environmental permission, according to Energinet, a Danish state-owned company.