Poland’s government and gas companies were attempting Friday to restore the flow of gas to some municipalities after a Russian firm halted supply when Warsaw slapped it with sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The supply cut was a separate development from Russia's decision earlier this week to stop gas deliveries to Poland.
Government spokesman Piotr Mueller said Poland expected the firm, Novatek Green Energy, to immediately comply with the demand to make its pipelines available to Poland’s companies that seek to convey their gas to the 10 affected areas, including the popular Baltic Sea resort of Leba.
Mueller warned that Novatek could face legal action under the country's crisis management laws if the company doesn't immediately comply.
“It all depends on whether this Russian firm, linked to Russia, will cooperate in the proper way .... whether the employees, acting on some instructions, will not be trying to block this process in some way," Mueller said.
A subsidiary of a group controlled by OAO Novatek, Russia's second-largest natural gas producer Novatek was put earlier this week on Poland's list of sanctions against 50 Russian and Belarusian businesses. The sanctions are intended to curb the outflow of money from Poland to Russia’s war coffers. They come on top of European Union measures in response to Russia' invasion of Ukraine.
Polish gas companies PGNiG, PSG and Gaz-System say they're prepared to convey gas to the affected areas, but need Novatek’s infrastructure to do so.
