Polish gas monopoly PGNiG said recently that it struck a deal with Russian gas giant Gazprom that will increase gas supplies to Poland until 2037. The agreement, which must still be approved by governments in Warsaw and Moscow, will save Polish industries from a serious gas shortage this winter, said industry analyst Andrzej Szczesniak.
But a parliamentary commission pressed for more details on the negotiations, saying Poland was threatened by a shortage and not enough was known about the deal, the Polish Press Agency PAP reported.
The two companies reached a compromise on the level of tariffs for the transfer of Russian gas to Poland, PGNiG said in a statement, and on the share structure of Europol Gaz. Europol Gaz is owned by Gazprom and PGNiG and operates the portion of the Yamal gas pipeline that runs through Poland.
The negotiations came after expiration of Warsaw’s contract with the Russian-Ukrainian company RosUkrEnergo, which until the beginning of this year delivered an annual 2.3 billion cubic meters of gas to Poland.
Wojciech Jasinski, chairman of a parliamentary public finance commission, raised the issue of gas shortages. “It’s a dangerous matter,” PAP quoted Jasinski as saying. “Information is coming out about a big need for and a potential lack of gas and MPs don’t know anything about this.”