Debate with the Commissioner for Energy Günther H. Oettinger
At the invitation of Prof. Lena Kolarska-Bobińska, Member of the European Parliament, the President of the Management Board of GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. Jan Chadam took part in a debate with the Commissioner for Energy Günther H. Oettinger on the following topic “Energy Policy and the European Union Budget” along with representatives of the energy sector, research institutions and opinion-forming environments.
The EU Commissioner Oettinger discussed the greatest challenges that the European energy policy currently faces and the ideas for allocation of budget funds in the next EU financial perspective for 2014-2020. The Commissioner's address concentrated on Europe being an energy importing continent. The increase in demand for energy is shaping and will continue to form our relations with energy suppliers outside of the European Union. It is for this reason that a common strategy, the foundation of which will be an integrated European transmission infrastructure, will ensure the supply of the raw materials and a reasonable energy mix in Europe.
“The European competitiveness and capacity to generate economic growth will depend on an effective performance of infrastructural projects during the next five years. GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. is already carrying out investments significantly supported by European Union funds but the future financial perspective for 2014-2020 is particularly important for our region because it gives the chance for cross-border connections to be completed which, under normal conditions, would be impossible to realise. Financing of infrastructure projects from EU funds carries with it many benefits. These benefits include, above all, the fact that the end customer are relieved since they no longer have to incur the full costs of the development of the infrastructure through which they receive energy. Projects which are supported by Community funding inspire professional management of organisations, support the development and furthering of knowledge as well as good interoperator contacts. This facilitates the advancement of regional integration and the building of the future competitive advantageous position,” Jan Chadam, President of the Management Board of GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. commented in the debate.
From the left: Günther H. Oettinger, Commissioner for Energy, Lena Kolarska-Bobińska, Member of the European Parliament
Jan Chadam, President of the Management Board of GAZ-SYSTEM S.A., Lena Kolarska-Bobińska, Member of the European Parliament, Günther H. Oettinger, Commissioner for Energy, Maciej Bukowski, President of the Board at the Institute for Structural Research, Jacek Piekacz, Polish Confederation of Private Employers - PKPP Lewiatan, and EDF Polska
Participants in the Debate
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The Gas Transmission Operator GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. is a strategic Polish Company responsible for natural gas transmissions throughout Poland. The Company manages assets worth approx. 5 bn PLN comprised mainly of elements of the transmission system, e.g. more than 9.8 thousand km of high pressure pipelines, 14 compressor stations, 56 hubs and 970 exit points. The Company employs over 2,000 persons.
GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. is planning to construct over 1,000 km of new gas pipelines by 2014. The most important will be in north-west and central Poland (Szczecin–Lwówek, Świnoujście–Szczecin, Szczecin–Gdańsk, Rembelszczyzna–Gustorzyn, and Gustorzyn-Odolanów). 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.
In 2011, GAZ–SYSTEM S.A. completed the construction of the Włocławek–Gdynia gas pipeline and the gas compressor station in Goleniów and the gas compressor station in Jarosław. The Company has also opened the new Poland–Czech Interconnector, which will enable the transmission of approx. 0.5 bcm of gas annually. GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. has also developed gas pipelines in Lower Silesia, which will enable the off-take of greater amounts of gas from the western direction. It is possible to transport up to 1.5 bcm of gas annually (the earlier capacity amounted to 0.9 bcm of gas annually) via the Lasów point on the Polish-German border.
Investments fulfilled by GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. in 2011 with the possibility of using virtual reverse flow services on the Yamal pipeline have created the technical possibilities to import over 3.3 bcm of gas annually to Poland from new sources (approx. 30% of the currently performed import).
GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. is the joint organiser of the 10th International Gas Infrastructure Europe Conference, which will be held on 24 – 25 May 2012 in Cracow, Poland. The GIE Conference has for many years been the most important and most prestigious events in the European energy sector and the first such event organised in Poland. The main theme of the Conference will be the role of natural gas as a clean and ecological source of energy for the future of the economy in European Union states. More information about the Conference is available on the following website: http://www.gie.eu/index.php/annual-conference-2012-home
Contact:
Małgorzata Polkowska
Press Spokesperson for GAZ-SYSTEM S.A.
tel. 22 22 01 546, mob. 691 911 217
