Business analyses for the planned Poland-Lithuania gas pipeline have received funding from the European Commission.
By virtue of the decision of the European Commission, financial aid in the sum of 425,000 EUR was awarded for the projects of joint interest for GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. and the Lithuania Lietuvos Dujos. Within the Trans-European Networks–Energy (TEN-E) Programme intended to facilitate the integration of the energy network, funding has been awarded to conduct an economic analysis and feasibility study for the Poland-Lithuania gas interconnector.
The main purpose of the project which has received co-funding is the performance of the technical, economic, financial and environmental analysis for the planned Poland-Lithuania connection. It will be possible to feed the interconnector from prospective new sources such as the LNG terminal in Świnoujście, the Baltic Pipe and the Poland-Czech Republic interconnector. The first stage of the project shall be to perform an economic analysis which will constitute the grounds for the decision about performing the feasibility study in the second stage of the project.
Stage 1 will include collection of the necessary data and information enabling the assessment of the venture in terms of its economic viability. The collected information will encompass areas like the structure, as well as the key local gas market participants in the Baltic Sea region, the national energy development strategies, the security of gas supplies and the forecast supply and demand for gas. Data concerning the extraction, search and storage of gas in the region shall also be collected and the energy prices on both regional and international markets shall be forecast. The abovementioned actions will provide more detailed information on the possibilities and perspectives for the construction of the gas connection between Poland and Lithuania and will enable clear conclusions and recommendations for the future to be formulated. The expected date of completion of Stage 1 is July 2011.
Stage 2 will include preparation of the feasibility study within which an analysis of at least three performance scenarios will be fulfilled. The matters covered by the feasibility study will include the economic premises, the specification of project costs and expenses, an economic analysis, a technical description of the prospective variants of gas pipeline routes, an evaluation of the environmental impact and the schedule of performance of given stages of the project. The expected date of completion of Stage 2 is July 2012.
The results of the feasibility study will constitute the grounds for preparing the Open Season procedure to investigate the demand for gas transmission on the analysed Poland-Lithuania gas pipeline.
The Poland-Lithuania connection may constitute one of the elements of the strategy for the integration of the energy markets of countries located in the Baltic Sea region by creating international energy connections called the Baltic Energy Market Interconnection Plan (BEMIP). BEMIP constitutes one of the priorities for the development of the energy infrastructure marked out by the European Union within the Second Strategic Energy Review (SER2). Its purpose is to integrate the gas and energy markets in the Baltic Sea region as well as put an end to the isolation of Baltic countries from the European Energy market.
Talks between gas companies from the Baltic Sea region (Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia) are being conducted within the scope of actions undertaken on the BEMIP forum in order to agree the possible cooperation framework in defining the prospective interconnector project enabling Baltic States access to the European energy market that would be acceptable for all the entities involved and which would take into account the current market conditions.
***
The Gas Transmission Operator GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. is a strategic, wholly-owned State Treasury company responsible for the transmission of natural gas throughout Poland. The Company manages assets worth approx. 5 bn PLN, comprised of elements of the transmission system, e.g. over 9.7 thousand km of high pressure pipelines, 14 compressor stations, 56 hubs and 970 exit points. The Company employs over 2,000 people.
GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. is planning to build over 1,000 km of new gas transmission pipelines by 2014. The most important will be constructed in North Western and Central Poland (Szczecin-Lwówek, Swinoujscie-Szczecin, Szczecin-Gdansk, Włocławek-Gdynia, Rembelszczyzna-Gustorzyn, and Gustorzyn-Odolanów), as well as in Lower Silesia. The development of the gas transmission network in Poland may constitute an important element of the North - South Gas Corridor connecting the LNG terminal in Świnoujście with the planned Adria LNG terminal through the transmission infrastructure of Central European countries.
GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. is also the owner of the Polskie LNG S.A. Company, which was established to construct the liquefied natural gas terminal (LNG) terminal in Świnoujście.
***
AB Lietuvos Dujos is engaged in the following core business activities: natural gas import and sales to consumers, gas transmission and distribution services, balanced and economically justified development of the natural gas supply infrastructure. The Company controls assets worth over LTL 2.5 billion. AB Lietuvos Dujos operates 1.9 thousand km of gas transmission pipelines, 8.1 thousand km of gas distribution pipelines, 65 M&R stations, 3 gas metering stations and 2 gas compressor stations. The Company supplies natural gas to heat and power generating, industrial, and other enterprises and organizations as well as residential consumers of natural gas. The Company supplies approx. 50% of the total gas volumes consumed in Lithuania. AB Lietuvos Dujos is also engaged in natural gas transit transmission to the Kaliningrad Region of the Russian Federation. The average staff size of the Company is 1.7 thousand; the number of its customers exceeds 550 thousand.
AB Lietuvos Dujos carries out its activities in accordance with the socially responsible business principles and in its activities lays a stress on environmental protection, respect to the Company’s customers’ and employees’ rights, promotion of the economic development and active participation in the social life. The Company participates in various voluntary actions, which are often initiated by the Company’s employees themselves, and supports cultural initiatives of communities. AB Lietuvos Dujos is one of the biggest tax payers in Lithuania. According to the State Tax Inspectorate data for 2010, the Company was the fourth-biggest tax payer – paid LTL 351.7 million to the State Budget.
Contact:
GAZ-SYSTEM S.A.
Małgorzata Polkowska
Spokesperson
Tel. (0048 22) 220 17 55, (0048) 691 911 217
e-mail: pr@gaz-system.pl
AB Lietuvos Dujos
Sigita Petrikonyte – Jurkuniene, Spokesperson
Tel. +370 5 2360258, mob. +370 699 07870
e-mail: spj@lietuvosdujos.lt
