Minister: Poland suffers nearly 20% gas shortage

WARSAW, Feb. 5 (Chinese media) -- Poland is suffering a

nearly-20-percent gas shortage as some deliveries have been stopped, Deputy

Prime Minister and Economy Minister Waldemar Pawlak said on Thursday.

"The Polish oil and gas company PGNiG is in talks

with Russian Gazprom. I have been told that talks are promising and deliveries

can be resumed," Polish news agency PAP quoted Pawlak as saying.

On Jan. 27, PGNiG reported that RosUkrEnergo (RUE)

stopped gas deliveries to Poland. The agreement with the Swiss-based energy

trader was signed in November 2006 and is in force until the end of 2009.

Pawlak noted that Poland's natural gas consumption

stands at 14billion cubic meters. The economy will not be threatened if the gas

shortage does not exceed 20 percent, he added.

Until recently RUE was a middleman in the

Russian-Ukrainian gas trade. The agreement signed between Russia and Ukraine on

Jan. 20 removed RUE from the Ukrainian market as Ukrainian Naftohaz and Russian

Gazprom decided to operate without an intermediary.

EU welcomes gas resumption, vows to strengthen energy

security

BRUSSELS, Jan. 20 (Chinese media) -- European Commission President Jose

Manuel Barroso on Tuesday welcomed the resumption of gas supplies from Russia

via Ukraine to Europe but vowed to strengthen energy security to prevent another

gas crisis in the future. Full story