GAZ-SYSTEM is a strategic company for the Polish economy. It is responsible for the transmission of natural gas, managing Poland's most important gas pipelines and the Baltic Pipe undersea gas pipeline. It owns and operates the LNG Terminal in Swinoujscie, and also owns Gas Storage Poland, a company that acts as an operator of natural gas storage facilities.
EU financial support for Baltic Pipe with final settlement by CINEA
The European Executive Agency for Climate, Infrastructure and Environment (CINEA) has approved the final settlement of the grant agreement for construction works in the Baltic Pipe project.
Construction works for the Baltic Pipe project were co-financed with EU funds, from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF ENERGY), which is an EU funding programme for the implementation of the Trans-European Networks for Energy policy. Its objective is to support investment in the construction of new cross-border energy infrastructure in Europe.
Funding for the Baltic Pipe construction works amounted to EUR 214,920,000.00, one of the largest grants awarded under the entire CEF Energy programme in the last decade.
From the outset, Baltic Pipe was treated as a strategic infrastructure project aimed at creating a new corridor for gas supply to the countries in the European Union by connecting natural gas deposits located on the Norwegian Continental Shelf with markets in Denmark and Poland. Its implementation was fully compliant with the assumptions of the European Union's energy policy, i.e. enhancing competition, integrating gas markets, increasing security of supply and effective implementation of sustainable development principles. Baltic Pipe was included by the European Commission in all lists (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021) of Projects of Common Interest (PCIs) to date. From the EC's perspective, the project's implementation was important for the entire European Union.
Inclusion on the PCI list translated into the possibility of obtaining significant non-refundable financial support under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for the preparation and implementation of the investment process, as well as obtaining support from EU institutions at the political and administrative level (e.g. in terms of obtaining permits, performing environmental surveys and other important elements of the investment process).
The CEF ENERGY programme supported both the project feasibility study and the engineering and preparatory works. The total amount of grants awarded for the Baltic Pipe project was EUR 266,769,601.00. Both companies involved in the Baltic Pipe project, i.e. GAZ-SYSTEM and Energinet, benefited from the grants awarded, with GAZ-SYSTEM receiving EUR 243,517,328.00.
