OSLO (Reuters) – A gas pipeline that is under construction from Norway via Denmark to Poland is expected to be ready for shipments in October or November this year, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told a news conference in Oslo on Tuesday.
The European Commission has published plans to cut EU dependency on Russian gas by two-thirds this year and end its reliance on Russian supplies of the fuel “well before 2030”.
“Towards the end of this year, October, November, the Baltic Pipe is going to be ready … Today we know very well that we have to be independent of Russian oil and gas,” Morawiecki said.
The Baltic Pipe will have a capacity to transport 10 billion cubic metres of Norwegian gas per year, around half of Poland’s annual needs, Morawiecki said during a joint appearance with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere.
Construction of the long-planned project was halted in May 2019 due to environmental issues in Denmark, but work has now resumed, Danish grid operator Energinet said on March 1.
Energinet said it had received a new environmental permit and expects the pipeline to be partially operational from Oct. 1 and running at full capacity from Jan. 1, 2023. The suspension has already delayed the start date by three months.
(Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis, writing by Terje Solsvik, editing by Gwladys Fouche)
