German-Polish Gas Links Funded

The European Commission (EC) said September 12 it has awarded €9.2mn from the EU’s European Regional Development Fund to improve gas transport links between Poland and Germany.

The project co-funded involves the construction of two gas transfer pipelines in the Polish districts of Dolnoslaskie, Lasow-Jeleniów and Galow-Kielczow. The expansion of the PGNiG-owned 1.2bn m³ Wierzchowice underground gas storage (UGS) facility, Poland’s largest, is also being financed.  The project will increase the capacity of pipelines importing gas from Germany through Lasow. Ontras, a subsidiary of VNG, is the gas grid operator on the eastern German side, while state-owned Gaz System is the operator on the Polish side.

The 59 km of newly-built pipelines will help optimise gas flows into Poland and cover the demand for gas in an area of 3mn inhabitants, especially during winter, said the EC.

Jan Chadam, a former Gaz System CEO, in 2012 outlining plans for links into his company's network from German gas grid Ontras (Photo credit: Gaz System)

Extra capacity from Germany thus improves Poland's resilience, in the event of a disruption of flows from its largest supplier, Russia's Gazprom.

Separately, EC vice-president Maros Sefcovic is visiting the European Space Agency (ESA) in Paris on September 12/13 because, on day two, the ESA Council will discuss strategic cooperation between the commission and ESA “in the context of contributing to a resilient Energy Union.”

Mark Smedley