Polonia mon amour

VEDI: Poland: Reliable Source? by Marynia Kruk, TRANSITIONS ONLINE, 12 November 2009
While paying lip service to diversifying its supply of natural gas, Warsaw inks a long-term deal with Gazprom.
WARSAW | In late October, nearly a year after the Russian-Ukrainian crisis left Poland with a 2.5 billion cubic meter shortfall of natural gas for 2009, Polish state-controlled gas monopoly PGNiG and Gazprom agreed to significantly increase the amount of the fuel Poland will buy from the Russian company starting next year. If approved by the Polish and Russian governments, the deal would see Gazprom’s gas exports to Poland rise to 10.27 billion cubic meters a year through 2037 instead of the current 7 billion cubic meters. Whether the deal undermines Poland’s oft-repeated supply diversification goals or ensures a steady supply of natural gas remains to be seen. Radoslaw Dudzinski, PGNIG’s deputy chief in charge of strategy, said the value of the contract is a function of the nine-month moving average of light and heavy gas oil prices and is adjusted quarterly. “At current crude oil prices and the zloty’s exchange rate to the dollar, the 10.27 billion cubic meter contract is worth about 7.7 billion zlotys ($2.8 billion), but that can change quickly as the price of oil or exchange rates shift,” said Kamil Kliszcz, an energy analyst at BRE Bank in Warsaw. One thing the agreement cannot forestall is a repeat of the situation that occurred in January, when Russia closed the tap on Ukraine, which in turn stopped pumping gas on to Poland and other European countries. LEGGI TUTTO
Poland receives most of its Russian gas via Belarus, but some transits through Ukraine. Map by East European Gas Analysis.

VEDI anche Tutti gli uomini di Gazprom, Internazionale 12 novembre 2009
Sono capi di governo, alcuni ancora in carica, ex commissari europei, responsabili di gruppi energetici nazionali. Tutti hanno rapporti privilegiati con il gigante russo dell’energia, di cui difendono gli interessi a Bruxelles a scapito delle iniziative europee, racconta il quotidiano polacco Polska. A Bruxelles sono chiamati i “gazpromiens”. Un gruppo di persone che, per ragioni diverse, controlla che gli interessi del monopolista del gas russo Gazprom siano difesi con sollecitudine presso l’Unione europea. Questa importante lobby è composta da leader europei, come l’ex cancelliere tedesco Gerhard Schrhöder o l’attuale premier italiano Silvio Berlusconi, alla guida di paesi legati da importanti contratti con Gazprom. Ci sono anche alcuni pezzi grossi dell’Unione europea, come il commissario per l’energia Andris Piebalgs, e gli influenti responsabili delle grandi società di energia italiane, tedesche, olandesi o francesi. Tutti hanno in corso importanti affari con i russi o sperano di farne. Leggi tutto