Natural gas consumption in Poland is rising, according to PGNiG

Compared to a similar period in 2017, imports of LNG have risen by nearly 64%, while imports of natural gas from Russia have increased by around 7%.

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 a 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% of Polish demand, PGNiG is importing growing volumes of natural gas from an increasing number of countries (including 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 billion m³ in 2015 to 17 billion m³ 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 the 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 t of LNG coming from the USA (and approximately 5.5 billion m³ following regasification).

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/03102018/natural-gas-consumption-in-poland-is-rising-according-to-pgnig/