What goes on in Poland on the 21st of June.
Gaz-System accepted the recommended route variant of the Baltic Pipe pipeline
Gaz-System accepted the variant of the offshore pipeline route recommended by Ramboll – a contractor in charge of technical and environmental documentation. The total length of the selected route is 275 km and it crosses the territorial sea of Denmark and Poland as well as the Swedish Exclusive Economic Zone (approx. 80 km). The variant also designated two recommended landfall locations – Faxe South in Denmark and Niechorze-Pogorzelica in Poland. Accepting the recommendation does not imply, however, the final decision regarding the route of the pipeline. Such a resolution will only be possible once all necessary administrative decisions and permits have been obtained.
Since October 2017, Ramboll has been conducting thorough environmental, geophysical and geotechnical surveys in order to identify the most favourable and the safest pipeline route across the Baltic Sea. The recommended route has been analysed and compared against several alternative variants mainly in terms of its environmental, technical and socio-economic impacts. Moreover, the methods of future construction works were also assessed in order to minimize the consequences and mitigate potential risks to the environment and ensure the highest safety level of the entire investment project.
Accepting the route recommended by the contractor does not imply that the selected variant has been finally approved for implementation. In the following phases of the project, the Investor will need to obtain a package of decisions and permits in all countries where the Baltic Pipe project is to be carried out, including decisions on environmental conditions, location decisions for the pipeline route in the designated corridor, and building permits. Only when all those permits and decisions have been obtained, the final route of the gas pipeline can be eventually determined.
The future of the Baltic Pipe project was discussed at a conference held on 20 June 2018, at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister.
Piotr Naimski, Government Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure emphasized that the project is regarded as a priority for the Government and Polish energy policy.
– Energy security is one of the pillars of the independence of the Republic of Poland, as it determines the position of our country on the international arena. The implementation of the Baltic Pipe project, that is the offshore gas pipeline enabling the transmission of gas from deposits in Norway to Poland and Denmark, is crucial for strengthening our independence.
He pointed out that the Baltic Pipe project will provide much needed diversification not only in terms of extending possible directions of gas supplies, but also providing new sources of imports.
– Owing to the Baltic Pipe pipeline, the long-established direction of natural gas transmission will change from the current east-west axis into north-south, thus reducing our dependence on Russia and reinforcing Poland’s national energy security, emphasized Piotr Naimski, Government Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure. – The Baltic Pipe project schedule has been thoroughly developed and it is systematically pursued. Accepting the recommended variant of the offshore gas pipeline brings us one step closer to accomplishing this strategic investment project – Mr. Naimski added.
Tomasz Stępień, president of the management board of Gaz-System stated that the Baltic Pipe project constitutes an pivotal element of the company’s broad investment strategy.
– Baltic Pipe is not only an investment project of great relevance for the energy security of our country, but it is also an economically viable undertaking that will contribute to the development of natural gas market in Poland as well as the region of Central and Eastern Europe. It will also strengthen the position of our company among the leaders of gas market, said the president of the management board of Gaz-System Tomasz Stępień.