Green light given for Baltic Pipe project

A final investment decision has been made for the EU-backed Baltic Pipe project designed to carry Norwegian gas via Denmark to Poland and other countries in the region.

The Polish and Danish gas transmission system operators: GAZ-SYSTEM and Energinet have both made positive investment decisions and agreed to implement the joint Baltic Pipe project.

The pipeline will enable the supply of natural gas from Norway through Denmark to Poland and other countries in the region as well as reverse transmission from Poland to Denmark and Sweden. The investment decisions were announced in Warsaw on November 30, 2018.

The bilateral positive investment decision means that Energinet and GAZ-SYSTEM have committed to construct overall 900 km long offshore and onshore gas pipeline. Baltic Pipe will be crossing three national territories – Denmark, Sweden and Poland, and gas transmission will start in October 2022.

“The construction of Baltic Pipe will not only benefit consumers in Poland and Denmark but will also be beneficial to both countries. The new gas interconnector will further strengthen and integrate the European gas market. Moreover, Baltic Pipe may contribute to achieving European climate goals,” said Thomas Egebo, CEO at Energinet.

“The project to construct the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline is progressing as planned. We systematically monitor the progress of the works and the implementation of subsequent phases. The conclusion of the Investment decisions by GAZ-SYSTEM and Energinet opens a new chapter in our cooperation,” said Tomasz Stępień, President of GAZ-SYSTEM

Before the investment decision was made, Energinet signed an agreement with GASSCO (its Norwegian counterpart) regarding construction of the tie-in to the Norwegian gas pipeline Europipe II and a pipeline to the Danish west coast which will enable gas flow from Norway to Denmark and Poland.

According to the joint statement from Warsaw, the Baltic Pipe project is in line with the EU energy policy, as direct access of Eastern and Central Europe to gas deposits in Norway will improve the supply security by opening a permanent corridor for the delivery of gas while increasing the competitiveness and price pressure among gas suppliers.

The positive investment decisions will now be followed by tenders for the potential contractors of the onshore and offshore pipelines, further engineering analyses or the submission of the Environmental Impact Assessment report as well as public consultations in the countries of the project’s location.

PGNiG pleased

Responding to the news of the project approval, Polish oil and gas company PGNiG said it was satisfied.

“This is a key investment from the point of view of Poland’s energy security and implementation of the PGNiG Group strategy,” the company said.

“The construction of Baltic Pipe will finally allow Poland to bring gas from our fields on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Thanks to this investment, we will gain direct access to resources that have been used by other European countries for a long time, what is essential for the stabilization of the natural gas market in Poland as well as in Central and Eastern Europe,” commented Piotr Woźniak, President of PGNiG Management Board.

The PGNiG Group has been operating on the Norwegian Continental Shelf for 11 years. It owns shares in 20 licenses, and acts as an operator on two of them, being the first company from Poland. In line with its strategy, after 2022 the PGNiG Group plans to extract in Norway 2.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year.

In 2017 PGNiG reserved the capacity of the Baltic Pipe for the period from October 1, 2022, to September 30, 2037.

Offshore Energy Today Staff