– The countries of Central Europe, including Poland, are the most exposed to the manipulations of the dominant supplier. Gas is as needed as oil or coal in the previous century, said the Government Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure, Piotr Naimski, at the 11th European Economic Congress in Katowice.
Piotr Naimski said that the possibility of diversifying LNG sources is a chance that gas as an energy source would cease to be a problem for Europeans: – We have a number of terminals for LNG reception in Europe, which are used in a small percentage – up to 30 percent. The possibilities are huge, a small fraction of what we import from Russia. You can replace the directions of imports from the East with gas from the USA – he said.
According to Naimski, supplies of US gas and US and EU energy cooperation will give new impetus to transatlantic relations that are fundamental to global security, especially for the Western community: – Central European countries, including Poland, are the most vulnerable to manipulation of the dominant supplier. The Polish diversification strategy is in line with the strategy of ensuring security for Poland in the next decades, because gas is as necessary as oil or coal in the previous century – said Minister.
– Construction of infrastructure and giving direction of change, which is brought by the possibility of accepting LNG, leads us to the fact that the terminal in Świnoujście will be expanded. This investment will be completed in 2021, we will increase the possibility of entering this market by 50 percent. We decided to build a floating unit near Gdansk. It will have a capacity of approximately 4 billion cubic meters annually, it will be the second entry for liquefied gas into the Polish system. It will be ready in 2024-2025 – announced the politician.
Naimski also referred to the Baltic Pipe project: – This investment will be completed on October 1, 2022, i.e. before the contract with Gazprom expires. Poland will be able to buy gas from the USA, Norway or Qatar, which will give us the opportunity to build a competitive gas market. This competition will be dictated by the economic calculation. This fits in with the Polish security strategy as such, the more so because relations with the US are very important for Warsaw. A bilateral energy dialogue between the US and Poland is being conducted, we are carrying out another routine meetings, Rick Perry is responsible for this from the American side, and it was my share from the Polish side – the government’s representative said.