- “The extension of the gas contract until 2037 and supplies level of 11bn m3 annually were the points, for which we have reached an understanding with the Russian party”, informed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Waldemar Pawlak at the press conference held on 27 October 2009 at the Ministry of Economy.
“Further negotiations are needed on tariffs for the transfer of the Russian gas through the Polish territories and the issue related to EuroPolGaz shareholding ", he added.
Poland is negotiating new gas supplies with Russia that would begin in 2010, as an effect of withdrawal of RosUkrEnergo from the market, a Russian and Ukrainian company. For that purpose, Deputy Prime Minister Waldemar Pawlak met with the Russian Minister of Energy, Sergei Ivanovich Shmatko, on 26 October 2009 in Moscow. “We are working to change the inter-governmental agreement and supplement the missing gas volumes", he said.
In the opinion of the Minister of Economy, the agreed extension of the gas contract for another 15 years creates favourable conditions to solve the issue of the tariffs. “Costs of financing this project will be distributed over a longer period, which should bring the tariff down to a level closer to the Russian offer”, explained the Minister of Economy. He assured that the Polish party counts on “maintaining fair profits in EuroPolGaz”. Territorial government units can also benefit from the gas transfer through Poland, as it can yield revenue of PLN 1bn from local taxes only.
The Deputy Prime Minister reminded that the agreement signed by the presidents of Poland and Russia on 25 August 1993 included a proposal to divide the EuRoPolGaz stocks equally 50/50. “The Russians are coming back to this proposal”, he said. Waldemar Pawlak also informed that the Russian party is not planning any new investments in EuRoPolGaz and suspends realisation of the second pipeline called Jamal 2.
He underlined that the negotiations are not easy, because of the discrepancies between the standpoints of each negotiating party. “The agreement must include arrangements in all areas of discussion or otherwise it will not be executed”, said the Deputy Prime Minister. “Our approach to that is very pragmatic.We need patient and open discussion about the energy issues”, he added. Waldemar Pawlak reminded that the Russian Federation has not signed the Energy Charter, which sets forth the terms of third party access to the transfer infrastructure.
The conference was also attended by the Deputy Minister of Economy, Joanna Strzelec-Łobodzińska, and Maciej Kaliski, the director of Oil and Gas Department at the Ministry of Economy.