Mateusz Morawiecki made the declaration at an energy conference in Warsaw on Wednesday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Bringing together policy makers, officials and energy executives, the event focused on Polish-Ukrainian energy cooperation and energy security in central Europe, according to officials.
‘Our plan is to become energy hub for central Europe’
In a speech to the conference, the Polish prime minister said: “Our plan is to become an energy hub, especially a gas hub, for central Europe.”
Morawiecki added that the plan was based on “existing interconnectors and pipelines, as well as plans to develop modern nuclear energy in the future.”
He said that turning Poland into a regional energy hub would mean that “Poland will be a provider of energy security for the whole of central Europe, which will strengthen our political standing in the region, as well as boosting our status and options for action.”
The prime minister noted that "in line with the plan, Poland has already begun to build a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal and expand the oil terminal in the northern port of Gdańsk.”
Morawiecki told the conference: “In the future, this infrastructure will be available for use by customers from Poland, but also by our partners from Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.”
He added: “And so today, we are expanding the national oil and gas transmission network, as well as planning to develop the Stork II gas interconnector together with the Czech Republic, and more trans-border energy links with our neighbours.”
'Zero Russian oil and zero Russian gas’
Morawiecki also told the conference that over its two terms in power, his conservative government had "made Poland fully independent from Russian gas and oil."
He stated: “Zero Russian oil and zero Russian gas - this is the sum of Poland’s trade with Russia today when it comes to energy.”
Morawiecki said that “after Russia’s gas blackmail against Poland and Ukraine, after the attack on Georgia, after the annexation of Crimea, Poland knew that for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, having a monopoly on supplies of hydrocarbons to Europe was as important as tanks and ammunition.”
“The Kremlin was making Europe more and more reliant on its deliveries,” he added.
Morawiecki continued: “That’s why our government immediately reversed the direction of Poland’s energy policy. We started the process of phasing out Russian energy commodities. We have built the Baltic Pipe, which brings Norwegian gas through Denmark. We have expanded the gas terminal in the northwestern port of Świnoujście, and we have signed contracts for the supply of American gas, as well as for the supply of gas from many sources across the world.”
Morawiecki reiterated that there were "advanced plans" to station a floating gas terminal in the Bay of Gdańsk as well as secure new contracts for the supply of oil to Polish refineries and build new gas interconnectors.
He also said that the government had "launched the project to develop nuclear energy” and that “clean power from Poland’s first nuclear station will start to flow in 2033.”
Wednesday is day 385 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, dorzeczy.pl