ILF Consulting Engineers Polska to study feasibility of building gas link between Lithuania and Poland

Poland’s natural gas transmission system operator Gaz-System and Lithuania’s gas imports and transportation company Lietuvos Dujos (Lithuanian Gas) have already signed an agreement with ILF Consulting Engineers Polska, which won a respective tender.

The study should be available by the first quarter of 2013 and its results will determine further steps for the implementation of this project, Lietuvos Dujos said in a press release.

“We are convinced that this project is of a great importance for the energy security and market integration of the Baltic States. In comparison with other diversification projects in the region, the interconnection between Poland in Lithuania provides a broader range of benefits, enabling access both to EU gas and global LNG markets and through bi-directional flow capabilities a higher security of supply for the connected countries,” Lietuvos Dujos deputy CEO, Joachim Hockertz, was quoted as saying.

“The advantages of the construction of the gas interconnection between Poland and Lithuania are above all greater security and diversification of gas supplies in the Baltic State region. We are also considering this investment in the context of including Lithuania in the North-South Gas Corridor. These values may be very precious for the market and consumers of the Baltic States.... this is a project in the scope of eliminating energy islands in Europe,” Gaz-System chairman, Jan Chadam, said.

Last year both companies involved in the project carried out its environmental impact assessment (EIA). According to early estimations, the interconnection between Poland’s and Lithuania’s gas grids will be 562 kilometers long. Up to 2.3 billion cubic meters of natural gas might be transported to the Baltic countries through this link per year. Later the capacity should be increased to 4.5 billion cubic meters.

The studies of project, including the business environment analysis and the feasibility study, are co-funded by the European Commission, which is expected to provide 60–70 percent of project funding.

The companies plan to build the interconnection, which will cost an estimated 471 million euros. A study of the project’s business environment, which was carried out some time ago, has showed that the interconnection would be advantageous for the region.

The construction of the link is planned to be launched in 2016. As reported earlier, Gaz-System plans to build a gas pipeline to Lithuania by 2018.