Saturday, June 30, 2007

Norway, Poland agree financing for new pipeline

Fri Jun 29, 1:39 PM ET

WARSAW (AFP) - Polish and Norwegian authorities have fixed the financial terms for a pipeline to channel natural gas from Norway's offshore fields to Poland, which is trying to lessen its reliance on Russian energy, Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg announced Friday.

"We have reached agreement regarding the financing of a pipeline from the Norwegian continental shelf to Poland," Stoltenberg told reporters during a visit to Poland, without giving details.

"There are agreements regarding the participation of Polish companies in such a pipeline," noted Stoltenberg at a joint press conference with his Polish opposite number Jaroslaw Kaczynski.

"What is now remaining is to reach an agreement on the commercial terms," Stoltenberg added.

Kaczynski said that Poland was "achieving progress in terms of diversifying our natural gas supplies."

Like its counterparts in the former communist bloc, Poland is growing increasingly jittery about its dependence on Russian energy.

Russia has been involved in a string of rows with countries that depend on it for gas and oil or which are key transit routes for the energy Russia sells to European Union nations.

The planned gas pipeline from Norway to Poland is due to run via Denmark.

In May, the Polish gas company PGNiG reached a deal on the pipeline with the Denmark's Energinet.dk.

In March, as part of the project, PGNiG also agreed with ExxonMobil to purchase a 15-percent stake in three Norwegian offshore gas exploration and production licences.