Poland president says Baltic Pipe will strengthen country's sovereignty

The Baltic Pipe will strengthen Poland's sovereignty and make it unaffected by fossil fuels imports from Russia, the president said on Tuesday at the symbolic opening of a major Norway-Denmark-Poland gas pipeline.

President Andrzej Duda made a statement at a gas compressor station in Goleniow, northwestern Poland, during an opening ceremony attended by the Polish and Danish prime ministers, Mateusz Morawiecki and Mette Frederiksen.

Duda stressed that the pipeline would allow Poland to diversify gas supplies and end with reliance on Russian gas.

It has become so clear in the current situation, where we can see something that even the biggest pessimists did not predict, which is that at one moment Russia will simply turn off the gas tap, Duda said.

Russia cut off gas supplies for Poland in the spring of this year, using Warsaw's refusal to pay for the commodity in roubles as a pretext to punish its neighbour for supporting Ukraine.

The prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, said the new pipeline would make Poland independent from Russian gas.

Today, we can say with complete certainty that the era of Russian domination in the area of gas is ending, said Morawiecki at a gas compressor station in Goleniow, northwestern Poland, part of the Baltic Pipe. He said that it was an era marked by blackmail, threats and extortion.

According to Morawiecki, Poland gained energy sovereignty, energy freedom and increased security, both in terms of energy and in a more general sense. Kadri Simson, EU commissioner for energy, said in the statement: "The Baltic Pipe is a key project for the security of the region and is the result of an EU policy drive to diversify sources of gas." The pipeline will be a valuable part of the deal to deal with the current energy crisis. The EU co-funded the project with EUR 267 million.

In 2023, Poland's natural gas utility PGNiG will be able to import at least 6.5 billion cubic meters bcm of natural gas via the pipeline. At least 80 percent of the pipeline capacity will be filled by the company. In 2024, gas deliveries will grow by more than 1 bcm, PGNiG wrote in a statement on Tuesday.

Poland will import natural gas via Baltic Pipe under contracts signed with Norway and PGNiG Upstream Norway's own output.

The Baltic Pipe is a joint venture between Polish and Danish gas operators Gaz-System and Energinet. Tuesday's ceremony was symbolic as the investment will be formally launched on Saturday.