About Panov: Poland wanted to become the main gas hub of the EU
Poland aims to become the main hub for the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe. Warsaw came to this conclusion against the background of the EU's rejection of Russian fuel. Western media are confident that this could change the energy flows in the region. As far as this is possible in reality, Izvestia figured it out.
Floating gas terminal in the Baltic: what it means
Poland, which already operates one LNG export terminal in the port city of Swinoujscie with a capacity of 8.3 billion cubic meters. m per year, plans to build a second one.
A decision on the construction of a new floating terminal on the Baltic Sea by 2028 may be made in the first half of 2026. Its capacity can reach 6.1 billion cubic meters.
According to a Bloomberg analysis, this will allow the country, which is striving to become the main hub for LNG exports in the region, to expand transit to other countries, create a more stable alternative to pipeline supplies for its neighbors, including simplifying supplies to Ukraine.
The purpose of the construction of the additional terminal is to attract new LNG buyers from abroad, as well as to combine several key routes.
Both terminals are booked by Orlen oil and gas company, which is controlled by the state.
Poland occupies a central position in the European gas network, although Lithuania, Greece and Croatia are gradually gaining positions in the LNG sector.
The Bloomberg publication notes that the new terminal would allow fuel imported from the United States to be stored in large underground storage facilities in Ukraine or supplied to neighboring countries that do not have access to the sea. For example, it can be Hungary, Slovakia or the Czech Republic.
Recall that Ukraine receives American LNG from Poland, in 2025 supplies amounted to 600 million cubic meters, earlier Orlen announced its readiness to increase transit to more than 1 billion cubic meters. m in 2026.
Ukraine also receives LNG from Lithuania, and the route, which is considered expensive and long, runs through the territory of Poland. If additional capacity is turned on, the second route can be shortened.
The EU significantly reduced Russian energy supplies after February 2022 as part of sanctions against Moscow. In the Russian Federation, these restrictive measures are called illegal. In October 2025, the EU approved a plan to phase out Russian gas, opposed by Slovakia and Hungary. The ban will be introduced from January 1, 2026, while the transition period for existing contracts remains: short-term contracts that were concluded before mid—June 2025 may be valid until mid-June 2026, and long-term contracts may be valid until January 1, 2028.
Not everyone in the EU supports
The European bureaucracy may prevent Poland from implementing its plans, so the process of agreeing and approving routes, testing and technological solutions may stall.
In addition, the hubs of Germany and the Netherlands are in no hurry to cede most of their domestic market to Poland. Lithuanian, Croatian and Greek terminals are also on the way, and the EU is encouraging a decentralized system.
In addition, it is necessary to take into account the logistical and infrastructural difficulties and the insufficient capacity of domestic gas pipelines from Poland to the east and south — modernization is necessary for this.
At the same time, abandoning Russian gas will boost demand for American gas, although it is much more expensive and not everyone in the EU can afford it.
Former ECB President Mario Draghi has repeatedly said that LNG from the United States is 60-90% more expensive in Europe, without taking into account the costs of regasification and logistics. In 2024, wholesale and retail gas prices in the EU were 3-5 times higher than in the United States. This has led to a significant loss of Europe's competitiveness, especially in comparison with the United States and China. The EU has become dependent on imports of raw materials and technologies.
Poland imported 1.79 million tons of LNG from Qatar in 2024, while other partners of Warsaw include Egypt, Norway, Nigeria, Trinidad and Tobago, and Equatorial Guinea.
Take Germany's place
Dmitry Officer-Belsky, head of the Baltic Region Integrated Research Group at the IMEMO RAS, recalled in an interview with Izvestia that the Poles had always opposed the Russian Nord Stream and Nord Stream–2 gas pipelines.
— Then Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski happily thanked the Americans on Twitter for blowing up Russian pipelines, so the Poles face an alternative task. Previously, all trade flows generally went from west to east and from east to west, but now Poland is striving to develop north–south transport corridors," the expert explained.
The political scientist added that Poland can take a key position in this, because there are landlocked countries in Central and Eastern Europe: Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria.
— Currently, there is an active development of terminals for receiving liquefied natural gas in Poland. Moreover, the Poles, judging by their plans, definitely put more than on the needs of their own side alone. In addition, they have a gas pipeline from Norway called the Baltic Pipe," the specialist said.
Polonist added that the possibility of obtaining liquefied natural gas from the United States, Qatar, and Norway creates quite logical ambitions for the Poles — to become a hub for countries that do not have their own access to the sea and are unable to build terminals for receiving liquefied natural gas.
— The Ukrainian gas transit has already ceased to operate. So there is both logic and possibilities here. But I must say that it is being built mainly with European money. For example, in August of the 22nd year, an interconnector was opened between Poland and Slovakia. The project was implemented with the money of the European Union, and in September of the 22nd year, the Nord Streams were disrupted," the analyst emphasized.
According to him, an interconnector was being built in Slovakia, and they planned to bring it to Austria through the Czech Republic, but it did not work out. The project was shortened and pushed back, which indicates contradictions between supporters.
—But in general, there probably shouldn't be any significant problems, although Eastern Europeans are quite jealous of the ambitions of Poles who strive to be number one in the region, they don't like it, and they don't always easily meet Poles halfway," the Officer—Belsky explained.
The political scientist added that large-scale projects are planned for the near future, which should establish Poland's key role in the region and, in a sense, Poland should even replace Germany.
— And this is not only an energy hub, we are talking about a logistics hub, the Poles are actively building warehouses, modernizing the port infrastructure in Gdansk, etc. They are already starting to plan the construction of one of the largest air hubs in Europe, so their ambitions are quite serious," the expert concluded.
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