What goes on in Poland on the 7th of March.
Poland’s Gaz-System will check if there is demand for a bigger FSRU in the Gulf of Gdańsk.
Gaz-System launches a non-binding market study on the provision of an additional 4.5 billion cubic meters per year against the 6.1 billion that had been originally planned.
Gaz-System assumes that the capacity of the FSRU will reach 6.1 billion cubic meters a year. Poland’s annual demand is 18-20 bcm. Depending on the demand outside of the country, the capacity could be upped. This could happen due to the energy crisis fuelled by Russia.
” (…) Gaz-System launches a non-binding market screening procedure for the demand for additional regasification capacity of the FSRU terminal, in relation to the capacity reserved under Phase 1 of the Open Season procedure. It is assumed that the additional regasification capacity of the FSRU terminal will allow regasification at the level of approx. 4.5 billion cubic meters a year. The decision on the final technical regasification capacity of the LNG terminal will depend on the verified market interest under this procedure,” the company said in a statement.
According to the plans, the FSRU is to be launched in 2027, but talks are ongoing on weather it is possible and makes sense to speed the project up. Gaz-System suggested that this would be possible in 2026
PGE chose Sweden over China for LTE 450 project
The state-owned PGE Systemy has signed a contract for the construction of LTE 450 special communications network with Sweden’s Ericsson, not China’s Huawei.
The contract is about the delivery and implementation of CORE components. PGE wants to have a reliable communications network necessary to build infrastructure and troubleshoot problems quickly. „The CORE network under contract is a central part of the LTE450 network under construction. It is responsible for, among others, managing and delivering LTE data services, supporting mobility features, supporting quality of service features, creating user profiles and authenticating users to protect against unauthorized access to the network. The implemented solution will enable comprehensive provision of data transmission services for LTE and IoT/M2M devices (LTE-M, NB-IoT) in the 4G/LTE architecture, in accordance with 3GPP standards for EPS/EPC components,” the company said.
The Swedes will service the network until August 2033, which is until PGE’s booking of the 450 MHz ends.
A new minister may delay mines phase-out
Deputy Minister of State Assets Marek Wesoły, responsible for the transformation of the mining industry in Poland, intends to update parts of the social contract with miners to include an amendment after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
„First we need to update the agreement in the context of what happened after it was signed, that is, the war in Ukraine,” Wesoły said of the social contract signed with the miners in 2021.
According to the contract, the last mine of Polska Grupa Górnicza will be closed in 2049. Coal has proved essential to Europe’s energy security at a time of the energy crisis fuelled by Russia’s Gazprom, which cut gas supplies and increased gas prices. These actions are seen as preparation for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022.
Poles are considering changes to the social contract in order to be able to continue to provide the energy and heating sectors with coal. Therefore, updates to the coal phase-out scheduleare back on the table. However, the Ministry does no intend to cancel the transition to renewable energy sources. „We are doing everything to quickly carry out the transformation, because we are convinced that renewable energy is the future. However, this must be done in accordance with the idea of a just transition,” Wesoły assured.
Orlen wants compensation from Russia
CEO of PKN Orlen Daniel Obajtek announced on Radio Zet that his company would seek compensation from Russia for stopping oil deliveries on 25 February. Poles are also demanding compensation for Russia cancelling gas deliveries in 2022 and the oil contamination crisis in 2019.
Orlen claims that it will not have a problem with importing this raw material from alternative directions, but will demand penalties for breaking the terms of the Orlen-Tatneft agreement valid until the end of 2024.
„After the visit of President Joe Biden, the Russians stopped pumping oil to Poland. We will now enter the legal path and demand damages,” said Daniel Objatek on Radio ZET.
It is worth recalling that PGNiG, which has been part of the Orlen group since November, is seeking similar compensation for Russia stopping gas supplies in April 2022 despite the Yamal contract being in force until the end of last year. Reportedly, the case was submitted to arbitration.