Polish Gas Monopoly Signs New Gas Deal

Poland's oil and natural gas monopoly has signed a three-year gas deal with a Russian-Ukrainian gas supplier, even as Warsaw looks to diversify its energy supplies.

Polskie Gornictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo SA, or PGNiG, agreed to buy 2.3 billion cubic meters of gas annually from RosUkrEnergo, PGNiG said in a statement late Saturday.

RosUkrEnergo is jointly owned by Russia's state-run gas monopoly OAO Gazprom and two Ukrainian businessmen. The new contract runs from Jan. 1, 2006 and replaces an expiring agreement.

PGNiG also said it has agreed to pay some 10 percent more for gas it receives from Gazprom under a long-term contract from 1996.

The Polish company imports almost 70 percent of its gas, mainly from Gazprom, and distributes it to Polish customers.

Polish leaders have warned that the former communist country is too dependent on oil and gas supplies from Russia. Poland was affected when Russia briefly cut gas deliveries to Ukraine in January.

Warsaw is exploring the possibility of importing Norwegian gas and building a liquid gas port on the Baltic coast. The Polish government has also floated the idea of pursuing nuclear energy.
Source:chron.com