Integrated transmission system in Europe
EU Member States, gas companies and European consumers should have the comfort of taking their future fuel purchase decisions based on efficient and integrated energy transmission networks – said the
EU Commissioner for Energy, Günther H. Oettinger, during his address to the participants of the 10th International Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) Conference, co-hosted by Gas Transmission Operator GAZ–SYSTEM S.A. in Krakow (southern Poland).
See a film on the annual GIE conference
By developing interconnections between the Polish system and the neighbouring markets, the Polish Gas Transmission Operator, GAZ-SYSTEM S.A., has positioned itself as an integrator of the natural gas transmission network in the region. This is why the company supports the construction of the North-South Gas Corridor which would be eventually supplied with gas from two new LNG terminals currently under construction - in the Polish town of Świnoujście in the north (to be completed by 2014), and at the Croatian Krk in the south. Within the Corridor, gas will be transmitted from the north to the south or in the reverse direction through local transmission networks of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia Hungary and Croatia linked with cross-border interconnectors. According to Commissioner Oettinger, the completion of the North-South Gas Corridor will take 5 to 8 years.
In our mid- and long-term strategy, gas features as a very important fuel in the European energy mix, because it’s flexible. We need time, we need money, but we have a clear strategy for a single energy market in Europe. – the Commissioner said.
See The map of ongoing and future investment projects in the Polish gas transmission system
A declaration was also made at the conference that responsibility of European transmission operators for the development of the network would be taken into account in the new financial perspective and will enjoy support from EU institutions of the appropriate level.
The North-South Gas Corridor will provide the region with new opportunities for the purchase and transport of cheaper gas on spot markets, and will offer the flexibility of the global LNG market. What is important for Poland is that we’ll be able to export our surplus gas to other countries and vice versa – import cheaper gas to our market. In a longer perspective, this will increase the competitiveness of the gas market and significantly strengthen the position of shippers in their negotiations with suppliers. – said Jan Chadam, President of the Management Board of GAZ-SYSTEM S.A.
See the animation of the North-South corridor
See the film: Integrated Transmission System
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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 approx. PLN 5 bn worth of assets which comprise mainly the components of the transmission system, e.g., more than 9,800 km of high-pressure pipelines, 14 compressor stations, 56 hubs and 970 exit points. The Company employs more than 2,000 persons. GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. is also the owner of Polskie LNG S.A., a company established to build the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Świnoujście.
GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. will build more than 1,000 km of new gas pipelines by 2014. The most important of them will be situated in north-western 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 to the planned Adria LNG terminal through the transmission infrastructure of Central European countries.
In 2011, GAZ–SYSTEM S.A. has completed the construction of the Włocławek–Gdynia gas pipeline, the gas compressor station in Goleniów, and the gas compressor station in Jarosław. The Company has also opened a new Polish–Czech Interconnector that enables the transmission of approx. 0.5 bcm of gas annually. GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. has also developed gas pipelines in Lower Silesia that enable the off-take of greater amounts of gas from the western direction. The capacity at the Lasów point on the Polish-German border is currently 1.5 bcm annually (the previous capacity was 0.9 bcm a year).
The investment projects completed by GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. in 2011 have offered a possibility of using virtual reverse flow services on the Yamal pipeline and created technical capacities to import more than 3.3 bcm of gas annually to Poland from new sources (approx. 30% of the currently imported volume).
Contact:
GAZ-SYSTEM S.A.
Małgorzata Polkowska, Spokesperson
Tel. +48 22 22 01 546
Mob. +48 691 911 217
