Natural Gas: Russian Media Downplays Poland's Latest Moves

Two from Sputnik which, while not as rah-rah as RT should still be considered as speaking for the Kremlin.
First up, and following on this morning's "Natural Gas: Polish Oil and Gas Company (PGNiG) confirms US LNG supply deal":

US LNG Imports 'Not a Game Changer' for Poland – Specialist

Polish company PGNiG has inked two long-term contracts for the annual supply of about two million tons of liquid natural gas from the US for the next 20 years, which is equivalent to 2.7 billion cubic meters of natural gas after regasification.

Poland will buy the LNG under the Free on Board (FoB) formula, meaning the seller pays for loading and the buyer pays other costs to the destination.

In an interview with Sputnik, Rafal Zasun, Editor-in-Chief of the website “Wysokienapiecie.pl” (“High Voltage”), said that even though the price for the US liquefied gas has not been announced, it is clear that it will be higher than pipeline gas.

“What is important, however, is that the contract has been signed for 20 years. As far as I know, the contract which Poland currently has with Gazprom expires in 2022. How much Russian gas will cost in 2022 is anyone’s guess. It makes no sense comparing the price written down in the contract signed years ago with the current one,” Zasun said.

He added that the price should be compared with the one now listed on European exchanges, where it has gone through the roof. Additionally, the two million tons will not be that important for the Polish market in comparison to the “reverse” gas the country is getting from Germany.

“If someday we want to stop getting gas from Russia, we’ll have to fill the void with ‘reverse’ gas from the West. It will be the same Russian gas, but provided though different arrangements, not on a long-term basis. It’s strange that Gazprom still sticks to long-term contracts,” Rafal Zasun said.

When asked whether the US LNG would be able to meet Poland’s growing demand, which is now in the ballpark of about 18 billion cubic meters a year, compared to the 2.7 billion it is going to receive from the US, Zasun said that regardless, Poland one way or another will get gas....MUCH MORE

Also at Sputnik:

Denmark Deciding Nord Stream 2’s Fate

The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Europe will double Russian natural gas supplies to Germany via the Baltic Sea and reduce transit across Ukraine.

On August 10, the operator of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline construction project was forced to apply for an alternative pipeline route in Denmark, Sputnik contributor Dmitry Lekukh wrote.

The application and environmental impact assessment report to Denmark's Energy Agency requested permission to build through the country's 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone northwest of Bornholm, thus bypassing Danish territorial waters (i.e. waters 12 nautical miles off the country's coast).

The company stressed, however, that it was not withdrawing from the ongoing procedure for the preferred route as applied for in April 2017.
Construction Permits

For Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2, permits from Russia, Germany and Finland were crucially important because there is no way either pipeline could possibly circumvent their territorial waters.

Permits from Sweden and Denmark are important, but not critical: in the case of Sweden, the pipes could be laid differently, although with some cost markups, and in the case with Denmark the same could be done without any additional cost.

Realizing the legal and technological impossibility of countering the project and hating to alienate the project’s main beneficiaries, Germany and Austria, the Swedes granted the requited permission.
The Danish authorities dug in their heels even though they officially recognized the impossibility of derailing the project as a whole.

And now the Danish Energy Agency says it will hold a public hearing on the environmental assessment of the alternative route for Nord Stream 2 on Bornholm Island slated for November 14.
By the way, the new route runs away from the country’s territorial waters, but still inside its exclusive economic zone to the north-west of Bornholm.

Yetl, from the point of view of international maritime law, Denmark cannot block it, except only under the pretext of some “ecological concerns.”...

...MORE