Basing on confirmed reports, the Company informs that between January-August 2018, LNG accounted for nearly 20 percent of imports, while natural gas from Russia accounted for ca. 74 percent of imports.
Compared to a similar period in 2017, between January-August 2018 imports of LNG have risen by nearly 64 percent, while imports of natural gas from Russia have increased by ca. 7 percent.
PGNiG further notes that volatility in annual and quarterly volumes of Russian imports is not caused by any changes in the long-term contract. Such volumes must always exceed minimal volumes imposed by Gazprom under take-or-pay clause, but they have always been smaller than maximal annual volumes agreed years ago in the long-term contract expiring in 2022.
Apart from natural gas extraction in Poland, which covers around 25 percent of Polish demand, PGNiG is importing growing volumes of natural gas from an increasing number of countries (Qatar, USA, and Norway). Natural gas imports are on the rise in response to a rapid growth in domestic demand: natural gas consumption in Poland rose from 15 bcm in 2015 to 17 bcm in 2017. These numbers represent the most dynamic increase in the history of the Polish market, and account for one of the biggest increases in Europe.
PGNiG has been continuing its efforts to diversify sources and lines of natural gas supply, and has also been preparing for supplying the Polish market with natural gas extracted in the Norwegian Continental Shelf: from the end of 2022 it will flow through Baltic Pipe spanning across the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea. Furthermore, under multi-year contracts which are currently being prepared, beginning from 2022 PGNiG will have an annual portfolio of over 4 million tons of LNG coming from the USA (ca. 5,5 bcm following regasification).
PGNiG