What goes on in Poland on the 4th of October.
Gas deliveries through Ukraine have broken a record. Success before winter
Ukrtranshaz proudly informs about gas sector’s good outcomes before winter. Not everything goes along with the plan though.
Ukrtranshaz informs that in three quarters 2017 transported 70,4 billion cubic meters of gas through Ukrainian pipelines. This is 23,5 per cent more than at the same time last year.
Increase of deliveries through Ukraine may be a momentary trend because Russians want to launch a new pipeline called Nord Stream 2. In accordance with assumptions, additional capacity of 55 billion cubic meters a year will help omit Ukraine in deliveries to Europe.
According to certain analyses, transit level may drop to 30 billion cubic meters a year. Gazprom suggested that it could even drop to 15 billion. This would mean a profitability crisis of Ukrainian pipelines and problems with keeping pressure necessary for maintaining deliveries.
In November 2015 Ukraine resigned from buying gas from Russia. In spite of that it managed to reduce its dependence from deliveries of this recourse by keeping the demand on a stable level and increasing imports from the European Union. A billion cubic meters of gas a year goes to Ukraine through PGNiG.
Thanks to gathering major reserves for winter, Ukraine is not endangered by lowering pressure in pipelines, deficiencies on Ukrainian market nor transit problems from Russia to the European Union. Unlike to Autumn 2014 and 2016, no alarming articles about a threat of gas crisis in Ukraine have appeared in the Russian press.
Lithuania wants to be a leader in synchronizing Baltic states with Europe through Poland
Lithuanian foreign minister Linas Linkevičius informed that Vilnius is ready to be a leader in realizing the energy network synchronization project between the Baltic states with the rest of Europe. According to the head of Lithuanian diplomacy, it is one of priorities that „cannot be postponed”. Baltic states still cannot reach an agreement about the way of synchronization.
.- Synchronization is one of the main priorities that we cannot postpone anymore. Lithuania is ready to be a leader in this project. Analyses have proved that synchronization through Poland is the cheapest and most effective scenario – said Linkevičius after meeting the vice-president of European Commission, Frans Timmermans.
According to Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, the best way of synchronizing energy networks of Baltic states with continental Europe are two lines of LitPol Link, which would cost € 770 – 960 million. In case of synchronizing through one line, the cost will be € 900 million. The cost of synchronization with the Scandinavian is estimated at € 1,36 – 1,41 billion.