During the workshop on the development of LNG supplies from the European Union in Warsaw, the representatives of the European Union and the USA supported the development of supplies of liquefied gas to Europe. The US raised the theme of the gas hub in Poland, and the Poles – the supplies to Ukraine.
Anne-Marie Bourneville from the European Commission stressed her support for the development of the LNG market. – Energy is one of the priorities of the Eastern Partnership – she said. She counted the investments supported by the Commission in the Eastern Partnership countries.
– Within the European Union, we support the development of cooperation with international partners to ensure the attractiveness of LNG and promote a liquid market for liquefied gas – a representative of the Commission said. – I thank Poland and Ukraine for the initiative – she finished.
I would like to thank the European Commission and Director Dominique Ristori for organizing this event – said US Ambassador to Poland Georgette Mosbacher. She recalled a joint statement by President Donald Trump and the chairman of the Jean Claude Juncker Commission on the will to increase LNG supplies from the USA to Europe.
– The US is the leader in hydrocarbon exports. Last year, we extracted 820 billion cubic meters of natural gas. This is a new record. In 2017, we became the net exporter of natural gas for the first time since 1957 – the ambassador enumerated. She reminded that according to the EIA, by the end of the decade, Americans would be able to send 112 billion cubic meters a year to the market, that is 30 percent of the global liquefied gas market. – No one has more LNG than the United States and we are interested in doing business – she assured.
She reminded that Polish PGNiG contracted nearly eight billion cubic meters of LNG annually from the USA. In her opinion, this is an opportunity for Poland, which „may become a regional gas hub”. – I support this fantastic initiative of Poland and Ukraine – summed up the ambassador.
Tomasz Stępień, the president of Gaz-System, talked about the importance of independence in the energy sector. – It is the freedom to choose a supplier and the supply route – he said. In his opinion, gas should not be a policy tool. That is why Poland is expanding the LNG terminal and is preparing to build the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline. – We have a positive response from the European Commission and the Eastern Partnership countries – he said about the LNG initiative undertaken by Poland and Ukraine.
– Until now, LNG has been an exclusive good with a high price. However, it is becoming an increasingly important element of the market, which can be used by Poland and other countries – said Stępień.
– Eastern Partnership countries may benefit from our investments. I am thinking especially about Ukraine, which can benefit from LNG location and potential – he declared. He admitted that the workshop is the beginning of a discussion on this subject and will be an opportunity to hear the views of the Partnership countries on it. – Gaz-System is open to cooperation – he concluded.
The President of Polskie LNG managing the LNG terminal in Świnoujście Paweł Jakubowski said that the first workshop on liquefied gas supplies will be an opportunity for business talks. – It is not only about Poland, but the whole region and its neighbors, Eastern Partnership countries.
– In December we proudly announced a tender for the expansion of the LNG terminal, which will be a key tool for choosing the supplier – assured the manager. He talked about new terminal services, increasing its flexibility, and thus increasing the profitability of the facility. – This is a key success story for the construction of a gas hub in Poland along with the Baltic Pipe project.
Paweł Jakubowski revealed that the last workshop will take place in November 2019 in Świnoujście at the LNG terminal.