February 12 Russia and Poland have signed the contract within the framework of additional report to the Russian - Polish contract from 1993 about transit of Russian gas through the Polish territory and delivery of gas to Poland for the period of 25 years. Necessity of signing of the report, according to Victor Hristenko, is caused by the fact that intergovernmental agreement is 10 years old, and, naturally, in due course there was a necessity to make in it corrective amendments.
In reality everything is different. The Poles reduce deliveries of gas for both economic and foreign reasons. First, needs of Poland for gas grew not so quickly as it was expected. Besides Poland received fuel from its own developed deposits in the southeast of republic.
Second, the right-wing forces of Poland began to accuse the government of giving in to pressure on the part of GAZPROM. The country becomes dependent on the Russian energy carriers. In their opinion, the conclusion of the contract with Russia was treachery in relation to Ukraine, which was not interested in construction of a "roundabout" pipe.
The Polish government according to the accepted power strategy till 2010 with a view of the power safety has decided to import gas from three sources as a minimum. Besides Russia this fuel should also come from Norway and Denmark.
The Polish Minister of Economics has declared, that though Norwegian gas and is more expensive than Russian, they will be compelled to overpay, if they want to have some sources of energy. In spite of the fact that Norway has agreed to make discounts for Poland, its gas in comparison with Russian is more expensive. Expensiveness of Norwegian gas and that fact, that due to GAZPROM Poland provides now more than 70 % of its requirements for gas, speak that Norway can not become for Poland alternative to Russia yet.
The Polish government probes an opportunity of deliveries of fuel from Denmark owning deposits in Northern Sea, but yet is not successful.
According to the new Russian - Polish contract decrease of deliveries of blue fuel to Poland in 2003-2020 years on 74,6 billion cubic meters up to 134,4 billion cubic meters from planned 200 billion cubic meters, that is on 34,5 % is supposed. Though Poland has agreed to buy from GAZPROM additional 9 billion cubic meters of gas in the period from 2020 till 2022, having lowered, thus, real reduction of deliveries up to 26,2 %.
Russia and Poland have coordinated the tariff up to the end of 2003 on transit of Russian gas through the pipeline Yamal - to Western Europe through the territory of Poland. The tariff will make 2,74 $ for 1 thousand cubic meters for every 100 kms of the pipeline. Further there will be the next three-stage reduction of the specified tariff to 1 $ for the period of up to 2019.
The signed report also determines principles of financing of the first-order construction of the Polish site of the pipeline "Yamal - Europe". Construction of three missing compressor stations with a total cost of more than 200 million dollars will go due to payment for transit of gas through the Polish territory. In 2005 the first turn of the site should start work in full capacity that will allow increasing its throughput from about 19 billion up to 33 billion cubic meters annually.
Simultaneously in Warsaw representatives of GAZPROM and Polish state oil-and-gas concern have signed the report on coordinated business - plan EuroPolGaz.
Author: Vasilii Gin
