Poland sees no need to buy LNG from Russia

Poland wants to increase liquefied natural gas (LNG) purchases via its terminal at Swinoujscie on the Baltic Sea, but sees no reason to buy from Russia, a government energy official said.

Poland launched the terminal in 2016 as part of a push to diversify away from Russian imports in the wake of Russia’s annexation of Crimea and Moscow’s wider clash with Ukraine, including over pipeline gas exports.

“I do not see a need for us to be buying LNG from Gazprom in future,” Piotr Naimski, Poland’s plenipotentiary for strategic energy infrastructure, told Reuters.

Russia is looking to produce 120-130 million tonnes of LNG annually in the coming years versus around 30 million now and to raise its share in the global LNG market to up to 20%.

Warsaw’s plans call for expanding the terminal’s capacity to 7.5 billion cubic metres (bcm) by 2021 from 5 bcm.

It also aims to build a 4 bcm floating terminal in Gdansk by 2025, as it expects to buy more LNG from the United States and other places.

Naimski also said he expects Polish state-run gas firm PGNiG to formally notify Russian gas exporter Gazprom by the end of the year that it does not intend to extend their long-term pipeline gas supply deal beyond 2022 when it expires.

“Just now Poland has a chance to free itself from a dominant supplier, which is Gazprom,” said Naimski.

Poland consumes 17-18 bcm of gas annually and expects growing demand to be met after 2022 by LNG imported via Swinujscie, 10 bcm sent from North Sea fields via a planned pipeline and 4 bcm from domestic production.

Only when Poland builds the Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) in Gdansk in 2025 and expands cross-border links with Ukraine and Slovakia, will it be able to export significant amounts of gas.

“The plan assumes that we will be able to add a second (floating) unit if needed. We will be reacting to the demand for gas being sent to Poland. We know that there is a growing interest in the region,” Naimski said.