Poland's PGNiG Finalizes LNG Deal with U.S.' Venture Global

Poland's dominant gas firm PGNiG has finalised the terms of a deal to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) from U.S. company Venture Global LNG, part of a move to cut reliance on Russian supply, the company said on Wednesday.

PGNiG struck an agreement with Venture Global in June to acquire 2 million tonnes of LNG a year for 20 years, equivalent to 2.7 billion cubic metres of natural gas after regasification.

It has now signed contracts with two Venture Global subsidiaries running from 2022 and 2023 respectively, under which it will buy the LNG under the Free on Board (FoB) formula, meaning the seller pays for loading and the buyer pays other costs to destination.

"Thanks to the FOB formula, we will be able to decide, independently and based on our needs at a given time, whether the purchased LNG load should be directed to Poland or be used for further trading through our London office," PGNiG Chief Executive Piotr Wozniak said.

Poland consumes around 17 bcm of gas annually, more than half of which comes from Russia's Gazprom under a long-term deal that expires in 2022.

PGNiG does not intend to extend the agreement, it said, and is taking steps to secure supplies after that date.

"Our predecessors wanted to sign a contract with Gazprom binding until 2037," Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told a press conference on Wednesday. "This would be like putting handcuffs on Poland and making us reliant on Russia for many years."

Polish officials have repeatedly said that Warsaw pays too much for Gazprom's gas and have opposed a Russian plan to build a new gas pipeline across the Baltic Sea, saying it is aimed at strengthening its dominant market position in the region.

Reporting by Anna Koper; Writing by Agnieszka Barteczko