Denmark, Poland Operators Should build Baltic Pipe

Denmark and Poland should move ahead with building Baltic Pipe to link their gas grids, the head of Danish operator Energinet.dk said on Thursday.

Operators said in March they would look at the project, which would secure gas supply to Poland, Ukraine, Slovakia and the Baltic states. They aim to complete a feasibility study by the end of the year.

"It should have been built many years ago. Now I think it's the right moment to do it," Peder Andreasen told a discussion panel during the European Economic Congress.

"That's a way to secure flows not only to Poland, but also to Ukraine, Slovakia, Baltic States and even Finland in the future. This would increase security of supply and reduce prices," he said.

Poland, which is looking to reduce its imports of Russian gas, sees Baltic Pipe helping it tap North Sea gas deposits controlled by state-run PGNiG.

PGNiG currently imports most of the gas it sells in Poland from Russia's Gazprom under a long-term contract set to expire in 2022.

"Land infrastructure does not allow for full diversification," PGNiG CEO Piotr Wozniak told the European Economic Congress.

Reporting by Anna Koper