In 2022, the ORLEN Group primarily relied on LNG for gas imports. At 6.04 bcm, LNG deliveries accounted for as much as 43% of the Group’s total imports. This marks a significant, over 50% increase from 2021, when LNG deliveries, amounting to 3.94 bcm, represented 24% of all gas supplied to PKN ORLEN. The surge in LNG imports was a response to the supply crisis in the European gas market, resulting from Gazprom’s actions and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Group in particular increased LNG deliveries from the USA, which totalled approximately 3.4 bcm (after regasification) in 2022.

In 2022, most of the gas imported via pipelines came from countries west of Poland, including 3.4 bcm delivered through the Poland-Germany interconnectors, which made up roughly 25% of the PGNiG/ORLEN Group’s total imports. The volume of natural gas imported by Poland from its western and southern neighbours in 2022 amounted to around 3.8 bcm, representing more than 27% of the country’s total imports. This is a significant increase compared to 2021, when gas supplies from the western and southern directions totalled around 2.3 bcm, accounting for 14% of PGNiG’s imports.

The total volume of the ORLEN Group’s gas imports in 2022 was 13.91 bcm, down 14% year on year. The decrease was primarily attributable to lower demand from domestic customers, which is in line with preliminary data of the Ministry of Climate and Environment, which has estimated that gas consumption in Poland in 2022 fell by approximately 17% relative to the previous year.

Source: ORLEN S.A.

- Our quick and effective shift to new sources of gas supply in 2022 has helped ensure the security of Polish gas consumers as well as marking the successful culmination of the process to diversify supplies and enhance Poland’s energy independence, which has been underway for seven years now. We accelerated its finalisation in response to the gas crisis in Europe caused by Russia’s recent actions. Despite significant competition from other countries, we managed to increase imports of LNG and signed contracts for the purchase of Norwegian gas. We also began importing gas from Lithuania and Slovakia. Looking ahead, 2023 will be the first full year without any gas imports from Russia, which will be replaced by deliveries via the Baltic Pipe and LNG supplies under long-term contracts with US-based producers.- says Daniel Obajtek, CEO and President of the Management Board of PKN ORLEN.

ORLEN Group: effective diversification of gas imports

In 2022, LNG and pipeline deliveries from new suppliers in Norway and Lithuania accounted for more than 50% of all gas imported by the ORLEN Group’s PGNiG, with close to a quarter of those imports originating in the United States. This diversification of natural gas supplies to Poland was made possible by the expansion of the supplier base and the effective management of the increased offtake capacity at the President Lech Kaczyński LNG terminal in Świnoujście and new cross-border connections, including the Baltic Pipe running between Poland and Norway, where the ORLEN Group owns gas assets. These developments were accelerated by the complete suspension of Russian gas imports in April 2022.

An essential element of the fight against smog in Poland should be the development of infrastructure, primarily heating networks and in cities. In Poland, the potential for the development of heating is still very large, over one hundred medium-sized cities do not have a combined heat and power plant, and in many agglomerations, the heating network requires a thorough modernization. Where there is no heating network, they are replaced by a gas network. However, it is still poorly developed, almost half of the Polish population still has no access to it. In such cases, heat pumps and other electricity-based technologies are a good solution.

- Another way to combat smog is to eliminate diesel as a fuel source for urban transport, especially in city centers.Very important - and low-cost - is also the ecological education of the society. It seems that we have enormous neglect here. From the elementary school level you have to educate about smog and ways to fight this casus. We can also ensure that the cities clean and wash the streets, because a very large part of the smog circulates in a closed cycle - it falls on the streets and rises again - enumerates Dr. Hab. Ryszard Stefański. In the fight against air pollution in Poland, we can also use new technologies and solutions that have already proved their worth in the German market. They allow to combine energy production from renewable sources with its storage, control and creation of economic incentives for energy consumption from renewable sources when it is available.

- It is important to use electricity when, for example, the sun shines strongly or the wind blows. It is difficult, requires deep digitalization, but such solutions can be introduced. The energy corporations have a huge space here - says dr. hab. Ryszard Stefański. According to the EWE Polska expert, business has a big role to play in the fight against smog. First of all, it can provide the right infrastructure that provides comprehensive, safe and low-emission heating sources.

- Our company's mission is to expand the gas network in areas not yet gasified, providing comprehensive services to enterprises, also based on high-efficiency cogeneration, which replaces coal and other solid fuels. This will allow or very high pollutant reductions in urban, suburban and industrial areas - says dr hab. Ryszard Stefański.

Source: Information Agency Newseria

They are only a few of our articles, the others are available in Polish version.

- We have many options in the fight for cleaner air and elimination of low emissions. We have to start with those that give the most results with the least financial cost. The first is the elimination of coal and other solid fuels as a source of heating in individual homes and apartments. Coal can be left only in large power and heat plants, which have an appropriate method of gas filtration - emphasizes Dr. hab. Ryszard Stefański.

Natural gas will be more and more important for the generation
of electricity and heat. This will help in the fight against smog

Natural gas will increasingly replace coal and will become more and more important in the combined generation
of electricity and heat - confirm experts from EWE Polska. This should help fight for cleaner air. For this, however,
it is necessary to expand gas networks, because today almost half of the Polish population has no access to them.

- Natural gas is a fuel that will replace coal in meeting the growing demand for electricity. In addition, it will also
replace coal in liquidated, exhausted professional power plants. The best way to use gas in the energy sector
is high-efficiency cogeneration and seems to us that its share will grow very dynamically in the future
- predicts Dr. Hab. Ryszard Stefański, directorit of the Enterprise Development Department of EWE Polska.

Cogeneration is a technological process that involves simultaneous production of electricity and useful heat
in a combined heat and power plant. It is one of the most efficient methods of primary energy transformation,
providing over 30% savings compared to the generation of energy and heat in a distributed system. In addition,
it is more ecological and contributes to reducing carbon dioxide emissions, therefore cogeneration support
is a tool for ecological energy policy of Poland and the European Union.

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