After Nord Stream pipelines were damaged, Poland decided to strengthen protection of Baltic Pipe

Polish transmission system operator GAZ-SYSTEM has stepped up monitoring and protection of the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline. Since the Nord Stream pipelines were damaged, greater emphasis has been placed on protecting this pipeline, which is considered critical infrastructure. Baltic Pipe serves as a diversification project for gas supplies to Central and Eastern Europe, and its importance has grown further following Russia’s attack on Ukraine and the efforts by the EU and its member states to eliminate Russian gas supplies.  

Baltic Pipe is a key project for Poland

The Baltic Pipe  gas pipeline entered service in September 2022. It runs from Norway through Denmark and on to Poland, delivering Norwegian natural gas to Europe. The pipeline was part of the EU’s efforts to ensure greater diversification of gas supplies to Central and Eastern European countries. Its transmission capacity is up to 10 billion cubic metres of gas per year from Norway to Poland. Three billion cubic metres can be transported from Poland to Denmark.

Poland was one of the first countries to which Russia stopped supplying natural gas in spring 2022. This was because Poland refused to pay for Russian gas supplies in roubles, as Moscow had demanded. That is why the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline is a key project for Poland, helping to replace Russian gas supplies.

Nord Stream was damaged the day before Baltic Pipe entered service

The Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines were damaged the day before the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline entered service. Following the sabotage, the EU and NATO stepped up their cooperation on protecting European energy infrastructure. Poland and its transmission system operator GAZ-SYSTEM also began placing greater emphasis on infrastructure protection.

“Physical protection and business continuity are no small challenges. However, this issue involves classified information, so I cannot provide many details. We can use the tools available to us under the Internal Security Act. We work continuously with state authorities and institutions, which strongly support our efforts to protect the critical infrastructure we manage and on which Poland’s energy security depends,” said Marcin Chludziński, CEO of GAZ-SYSTEM.

GAZ-SYSTEM said it had signed an agreement with SEA Global to enhance the safety of the gas pipeline for a further 5 years. In addition to specific measures, which naturally cannot be disclosed, the agreement includes training field staff in pipeline integrity, inspections and risk analysis.

“The selected contractor has many years of experience in the design and management of subsea gas pipelines. [Company] SEA Global will be responsible, among other things, for the pipeline’s technical evaluation, carrying out numerical analyses and providing maintenance advice,” GAZ-SYSTEM said in a statement.