Christmas is coming. Did PGNiG send a package of LNG to Ukraine on this occasion? If so, the arrangement was business and not charity. Gas cooperation between Poland and Ukraine has recently encountered an obstacle – writes Wojciech Jakóbik, editor-in-chief of BiznesAlert.pl.
The president proposes a contract for LNG
The President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda, said in Ukraine that his country is waiting for a proposal for LNG supplies over the Dnieper. He appeared at a press conference in Kiev with his Ukrainian counterpart, Petro Poroshenko. He spoke about gas cooperation between their countries.
– We also talked about Ukraine’s support through investments in gas connections. I am glad that investments are being implemented and Poland and Ukraine are working closely in this area. We are open to possible proposals of Ukraine regarding LNG supplies – said Duda in Kiev.
– On the one hand, we want to be a security provider. On the other hand, we feel that the construction of a gas connection is going to strengthen our security and increase commercial and business prospects. This is the sense of these investments – the Polish president said.
Petro Poroshenko referred to the controversial Nord Stream 2 project, which is criticized both by Poland and Ukraine. – We thank the Poles for their common position on Nord Stream 2. It threatens not only the security of our countries, but also of Europe as a whole – he argued.
He also expressed hope that the joint voice of Poland and Ukraine, as well as the support of partners from the European Union and the USA, will be ‘sufficiently effective’ to support efforts for greater energy security.
Dedicated package from Poland?
Although the Polish side is interested in the creation of the Poland-Ukraine Gas Pipeline and would like to launch it already in 2020, the deadline was set for 2022. The Ukrainian side has to build its part of the transmission line.
At that time also a representative of PGNiG talked about a special offer for Ukraine. – I can imagine the situation in which there will be dedicated LNG deliveries to Ukraine – Deputy President of PGNiG Maciej Woźniak said, during the Polish-Ukrainian Gas Forum under the patronage of BiznesAlert.pl.
Meanwhile, on December 12th, ERU Corporation, i.e. the parent company of ERU Trading, a trading partner of PGNiG on the Ukrainian market, announced the first delivery of LNG from the USA via Poland to Ukraine. The company reports that the availability of LNG spot charges and the insurance of the American OPIC agency allowed ERU to win in one of ten tenders of November 28th for the supply of raw material to the Ukrainian company Ukrtransgaz. It is going to receive 135 million cubic meters of gas from ERU within seven months.
It is not known whether ERU Trading is trying to send a positive signal during the visit of President Duda in Ukraine and thus gain a few image points. Apparently, the message has not been coordinated with the message of the president, who is still counting on the first LNG contract to Ukraine.
We do not know either how to calculate how much LNG from the USA has reached Poland via Ukraine. Deliveries had to come from PGNiG, because it bought the entire power of the terminal in Świnoujście and has a delivery contract for ERU Trading. Gas in the Polish company’s portfolio comes from various directions. The Polish company has not commented on the revelations of ERU Corporation, so it would be difficult to determine whether a dedicated parcel has arrived on the Dnieper, as the Deputy President Maciej Woźniak mentioned in Wroclaw.
Should thededicated delivery of LNG through Poland to Ukraine succeed, it would be the implementation of the arrangement, about which I wrote in April this year. Before any critical articles in the Russian press appear, it should be emphasized that such an agreement would have to be business, not charity. The basis would probably be the PGNiG-ERU Trading contract, which is an ordinary business agreement.
The problem of Poland-Ukraine gas pipeline
The problem of the lack of solutions regarding the Poland-Ukraine Gas Pipeline, demanded by President Andrzej Duda, remains a real problem. The Polish side has completed investments on its side of the border. The ball is on the side of Ukrainians, who apparently still do not want to declare. However, the signals appeared that its existing network of connections is enough for them. It was visible during the Polish-Ukrainian Gas Forum.