In Poland, they held the opening ceremony of the Baltic Pipe (“Baltic Pipe”) gas pipeline between Poland and Denmark, according to the website of the European Commission. In this regard, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced the end of the era of Russian dominance in the gas sector, he is quoted by Euronews.
The opening ceremony was attended by Polish President Andrzej Duda, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
“The era of Russian dominance in the gas sector is coming to an end, an era marked by blackmail, threats and extortion,” Morawiecki said.
Norwegian Oil and Energy Minister Terje Osland said that this is an important step towards Europe's independence from Russian energy. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, in turn, said that countries should do everything possible so that the Russian authorities could not use energy as a tool, adding that together they would be able to "defeat Vladimir Putin."
The start of deliveries is scheduled for October 1, 2022. The Danish energy company Energinet says that by the end of November the gas pipeline will be able to operate at full capacity.
The total length of the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline from Denmark to Poland is 275 km, it passes through the Baltic Sea, as well as the territories of Poland, Norway, Denmark and the North Sea. The Italian company Saipem has been building the gas pipeline for more than 20 years, work in Denmark was suspended for nine months due to environmental reasons, and construction resumed in March last year. Earlier it was reported that Baltic Pipe will be able to transport 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year to Poland and 3 billion cubic meters from Poland to Denmark. Natural gas is planned to be produced offshore in Norway and has proven reserves of 200 million barrels of oil equivalent.
On September 27, Der Tagesspiegel, citing sources, reported that the Russian Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines could have been attacked, including with the help of submarines or specially trained divers. Nord Stream AG said the damage was "unprecedented" and that recovery would take a long time, according to the company.
Back in the summer, the Russian side stopped the flow of gas through the Nord Stream. The shutdown caused a new wave of the energy crisis in Europe, the authorities had to look for alternative gas supplies. This led to a sharp rise in energy prices and accelerated inflation to multi-year highs.