Poland will not extend a long-term contract for supplies from Russian gas giant Gazprom once it expires in 2022.

The announcement was made by Piotr Naimski, a government official in charge of energy infrastructure, at the Reuters Eastern Europe Investment Summit on Monday.

“If the price of Russian gas is competitive enough we do not rule out buying it, but definitely not as part of a long-term contract," Naimski said. Signed in 1996, the contract terminates in 2022.

Poland’s state-owned gas company PGNiG buys some 10.2 bn cubic metres of gas from Gazprom annually. The deliveries meet much of the country’s overall need, totalling some 15 bn cubic metres.

The construction of a pipeline linking Poland with Norway is one of Warsaw’s latest plans to help wean Poland off Russian gas. The Polish government is looking to import up to 10 bn cubic metres annually from Norway, Naimski said. (aba/pk)

Source: Reuters