Poland and Russia signed a new natural gas deal on Friday, after the EU rejected a previous one, that increases Russian deliveries to Poland's gas company by some 2.5 billion cubic metres to 10 bcm a year until 2022. Poland would be short of some 2.5 bcm of gas annually without the deal, which was clinched after more than a year of talks and must still be approved by the European Commission.
The European Union executive had forced Warsaw to renegotiate after saying an earlier proposed agreement did not allow third parties to access the Yamal pipeline that brings Russian gas to Poland and on Western Europe and therefore broke the bloc's energy rules.
"Transit through Poland is guaranteed until 2019, but in the agreement we have also signalled a possibility to prolong it until 2045," Polish Deputy Prime Minister Waldemar Pawlak told a joint news conference with his Russian counterpart Igor Sechin. The heads of the Russian and Polish gas monopolies, Gazprom's Alexander Medvedev and PGNiG's Michal Szubski, signed a parallel deal between the companies.
The previous arrangement between Poland and Russia expired on October 20. The companies will negotiate further on arrangements for Russian gas to transit Polish soil to Western Europe after 2019 and for further deliveries to Poland. "We are also positive on solving the issue of gas deliveries (to Poland) as well as gas transit even after this Yamal contract expires," Sechin said.
Poland, keen to reduce its energy reliance on Russia, which provides two-thirds of the 14 bcm of natural gas it uses annually, has been hoping to develop its own resources of shale gas using new technology. Sechin said Russia thought it would continue to need large supplies from Moscow.
Sechin also said the agreed price formula allowed price discounts for Poland if it took more gas. Poland plans to have its first nuclear plant operational in 2022 and analysts say it is unlikely to favour participation in the plant in the neighbouring Russian enclave.
Poland says under the new contract the Yamal pipeline operator EuroPolGas would inform its Polish counterpart Gaz System of free capacity in the pipe, which Gaz System would then make available in open tenders - addressing the EU concerns over access. But the European Commission says it has not seen the final agreement between the operators so cannot yet give its opinion.
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