OREANDA-NEWS. The Polish company PGNiG under a long-term gas supply contract with Gazprom since 2014 annually overpays about 1 billion zlotys ($ 256 million). This was stated in an interview for the Polish channel by PGNiG CEO Petr Wozniak, quoted by Bloomberg.

PGNiG seeks to recover this amount as part of the arbitration, the decision on which the company expects by early 2020. Wozniak also expects Gazprom to lower the price in accordance with the current contract, which Poland refused to renew after 2022. According to Wozniak, PGNiG will "share" the money received from Gazprom with retail and corporate customers by lowering gas prices.

The Polish authorities said several years ago that the country was striving to find a replacement for gas supplies from Russia until 2022. Possible alternatives include an increase in Poland's purchase of liquefied natural gas, which so far has been supplied in small volumes to the country from the United States and Qatar and regasified at the LNG terminal in Swinoujscie. Another possibility is the construction of the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline, which is supposed to connect Poland with the Norwegian shelf in the project. PGNiG has been actively acquiring deposits in the North Sea for several years.