Poland to Set Up London LNG Trading Office
State-owned gas importer PGNiG is to set up an office in London early next year for trading LNG, it said June 28. Three days earlier it took delivery of its first spot LNG cargo: the Arctic Princess brought 140,000 m³ from Norway to Poland, following an agreement with Norwegian producer Statoil.
The office is to open for business in January 2017 and will reach its full operational capacity by the end of Q1 2017. The company has already obtained the necessary licences and permits to trade gas in the UK, it said.
The announcement of PGNiG's decision comes five days after a majority of Britons voted in favour of leaving the European Union in a June 23 referendum, the result of which surprised financial and currency markets on June 24.
PGNiG headquarters in Warsaw (credit: PGNiG)
“We are upholding our decision to open an LNG trading office in London. Currently, we have reserved 65% of the capacity of the LNG terminal in Swinoujscie. Thus, PGNiG has become a player of the global LNG market. We want to fully leverage the resulting opportunities,” said PGNiG CEO, Piotr Wozniak.
“We will be buying LNG at competitive prices for our own needs, but will also start trading it on global markets. That is why we are opening an office in London, the gas trading hub for Europe,” said the company's vice president of trading, Maciej Wozniak.
A spokesman told NGE that it chose London "because it is the gas trading hub for Europe. The outcome of the referendum did not influence our plans."
From the operational side, the project is being run by PGNiG Supply and Trading, a German-based subsidiary of PGNiG.
Initially, the office staff will comprise several specialists of the PGNiG Group and externally recruited experts. As the business expands, more staff will be employed. The office will focus on short-term and medium-term LNG trading. Any strategic decisions concerning the LNG portfolio and management of long-term contracts will rest with PGNIG.
William Powell | www.naturalgaseurope.com