Leaders from Poland, Norway and Denmark have today inaugurated the new ‘Baltic Pipe’ in Budno, a pipeline that will transport natural gas from the Norwegian shelf via Denmark and through the Baltic Sea to Poland: it is a key move to cut dependency on Russia for Poland (that was cut off from Russian gas supplies in April) and Europe.
The ceremony was attended by Norwegian Energy Minister Terje Aasland, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Polish President Andrzej Duda. The inauguration follows the news of several gas leaks identified by Danish and Swedish authorities on the Russian-operated Nord Stream pipelines: sabotage is feared. According to the Danish system operator Energinet, the Baltic Pipe link should be ready at full capacity by the end of November. Norwegian company Equinor sealed a 10-year agreement to sell 2.4 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas per year to Poland’s PGNiG, in a deal covering around 15% of Polish annual consumption – the Baltic Pipe having an annual capacity of 10 bcm. Read more on Euronews.com