Services

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National Transmission System and Transit Gas Pipeline System

The basic duty of GAZ-SYSTEM, as the Gas Transmission System Operator, is to provide gas transmission services. This is primarily done through the National Transmission Network (NTS) and the Transit Gas Pipeline System (GTPS). GAZ-SYSTEM secures the transmission process and, upon fulfilment of certain conditions, ensures the possibility of connecting the entities concerned to the transmission network. All gas transmission operations comply with the EU regulations, national legislation, and the Company’s internal regulations. In accordance with the regulations, the rates, possibilities, and conditions under which the gas transmission service may be provided are determined. Connection Agreements are concluded on the basis of the principle of equal treatment and connection – provided that business reasons for the task exist and the requirements set for that purpose are met by the party concerned.

At the end of 2023, GAZ-SYSTEM had 134 transmission contracts concluded in the National Transmission System (28 of which are inter-operator transmission contracts with Distribution System Operators), and 42 transmission contracts concluded in the Transit Gas Pipeline System. In 2023, the total volume of transported gaseous fuel via NTS amounted to 16,9 bcm.

Connections to the transmission network – status as of 31 December 2023

In addition to gas transmission, the Company provides additional services such as:

additional measurements not arising from the Transmission System Operator’s obligations in relation to the provision of the transmission service,
suspension, reduction, or resumption of supply to system points – on the basis of the recipient’s application.
pressure reduction and compression of gaseous fuel.

Following the entry into force of the amendments to the Energy Law, the obligation for all end users connected to the transmission network to conclude an agreement with GAZ-SYSTEM was introduced. It regulates cooperation with GAZ-SYSTEM in terms of the principles of gas facility operation, service provision and information exchange. Due to technical differences between gas facilities of individual end-users, the provisions of agreements are agreed on a case-by-case basis. The same general terms and conditions published on the GAZ-SYSTEM website apply to all concluded agreements. By the end of 2023, the Company had concluded 20 agreements with customers.

Laboratories

The services offered by the Gas Meter Calibration Laboratory in Hołowczyce, the Gas Quality Measurement Laboratory and the Material Testing Laboratory in Pogórska Wola are based on state-of-the-art equipment, educated staff and the highest standards confirmed by the relevant certificates and accreditations.

The Gas Quality Measurement Laboratory operates in two locations: Pogórska Wola and LNG Terminal in Świnoujście. Both testing laboratories are accredited by the Polish Centre for Accreditation for compliance with the international and European standard PN-EN ISO/IEC 17025:2018-02. Their primary tasks include metrological control of process gas chromatographs, testing the quality of gaseous fuel in the transmission network and to perform custody transfer analyses during the unloading of LNG carriers and tanker truck loading.

In 2023, the Gas Quality Measurement Laboratory performed measurement and analytical inspections of 70 process chromatographs and 155 water dew point temperature measuring devices. The purpose of the tests was to confirm the correct performance of operating equipment. In this respect, the Gas Quality Measurement Laboratory performs both internal and commercial orders.

In addition to activities related to natural gas quality measurements, the laboratory has carried out measurements of noise, local vibrations and general vibrations at workstations, noise from installations and equipment, and lighting for GAZ-SYSTEM internal purposes. The laboratory also performs tests of hydrogen and helium content in natural gas and measurements of methane emissions using a FLIR camera. In 2023, leakage inspections were performed for 7 gas compressor stations and the connection unit of the transit gas pipeline system. The value of sales of the laboratory’s services in 2023 amounted to PLN 102 800.

The natural Gas Meter Calibration Laboratory located in Hołowczyce is the first laboratory in Poland and in this part of Europe capable of calibrating natural gas meters at working pressure of up to 55 bar. As part of its operation, the laboratory performs calibration of natural gas meters under conditions similar to those prevailing in the transmission system and conducts research and development projects requiring the use of gas flow under high-pressure.

In 2023, the Gas Meter Calibration Laboratory extended its scope of accreditation to include lower flow levels (13 – 65 m³/h) for the calibration of ultrasonic gas flow meters. As a result, it is now possible to perform the majority of turbine and ultrasonic gas flow meter calibrations for the Company and third-party customers within the scope of accreditation granted by the PCA.

In 2023, the laboratory calibrated a total of 283 gas meters, including 114 for internal customers and 169 for third party customers. The value of service sales amounted to PLN 1,841,240.

In addition, an international inter-laboratory comparison (ILC) regarding calibration of turbine and ultrasonic gas flow meters, was completed last year following almost two-year-long project. The undertaking was organised by the GAZ-SYSTEM Gas Meter Calibration Laboratory. The participants in the comparison were six leading European laboratories from Germany, Spain, Great Britain, Denmark, and Poland. The results confirmed high competences of the Gas Meter Calibration Laboratory both in terms of gas meter calibration and organisation of such comparisons.

Based in Pogórska Wola. It conducts research and diagnostic tests of structural materials and their welded joints. In 2023, the Material Testing Laboratory was recognised by the Office of Technical Inspection for the radiographic (RT) method. Consequently, the Material Testing Laboratory expanded the range of non-destructive tests performed on equipment subject to technical supervision to the full range of methods used in such testing. In addition, the Material Testing Laboratory underwent a competence assessment by the Polish Centre for Accreditation with positive result which confirms its high competence in the area covered by accreditation No. AB 1767. In 2023, the Material Testing Laboratory additionally obtained an extension of its certificate of recognition from the Office of Technical Inspection for a further two-year period.

LNG terminal

The LNG Terminal in Świnoujście named after President Lech Kaczyński has been in operation since 2016. As its operator, GAZ-SYSTEM provides unloading of LNG from the methane carriers at the unloading jetty, in-process storage of LNG in tanks, regasification of LNG and supplying gaseous fuel to the National Transmission System and loading of LNG onto tanker trucks and ISO-containers. Currently, the regasification capacity of the Terminal is 6.2 billion Nm³ per year. The facility comprises two cryogenic LNG in-process storage tanks with a nominal capacity of 160,000 m³ each. GAZ-SYSTEM is continuing work to expand the Terminal to achieve:

improved flexibility of plant operation and extended period of permissible delay of deliveries to the Terminal by increasing the storage capacity dedicated to process LNG storage by 180,000 m³ gross (through the construction of a third tank for process LNG storage),
building the second LNG unloading platform and providing additional functionality of the Terminal i.e. loading LNG onto other vessels and bunkering ships with LNG fuel.

Since the commencement of operation of the LNG Terminal in Świnoujście in 2016, 268 deliveries of liquefied natural gas have been received (as at 1 January 2024). During the peak period of the facility’s operation (July 2023), nearly 1.2 million m3 of LNG delivered as seven cargoes were discharged.

LNG Terminal Services in 2021-2023 [G-S indicator]
LNG loading service on tanker trucks [G-S indicator]

	2021	2022	2023
Number of deliveries	35	58	62
Volume of liquefied fuel delivered to the Terminal in million m³	6.5	10	10.7
Volume of vaporised natural gas in billion normal cubic metres (Nm³)	3.7	5.8	6.2

Year	2021	2022	2023
Number of tanker trucks handled	5699	5362	8426

Baltic Pipe

Baltic Pipe is a strategic infrastructure project aimed at creating a new gas supply corridor in the European market. It enables gas to be transmitted directly from gas fields located in Norway to markets in Denmark and Poland, as well as to customers in neighbouring countries of Central and Eastern Europe. In addition, the Baltic Pipe project has enabled bi-directional gas transmission, i.e. gas can be delivered from Poland to Denmark.

In 2023, a total of 6.56 billion Nm3 of gas was transported via the Baltic Pipe offshore pipeline. The planned annual gas transmission capacity of 10 billion Nm3 has been confirmed during normal operation. In June 2023, the 'Synergy Pipeline' ICT system was implemented to support the management of risk, integrity, and operational activities in accordance with the requirements of the DNV-RP-F116 Offshore Gas Pipeline Operation Standard.

As part of cooperation with other marine users:

an agreement with Energinet A/S was signed stipulating the rules for the installation of a power cable along the Baltic Pipe offshore gas pipeline in the Danish zone,
arrangements for a crossing agreement for the power cable with Vattenfall from the Kriegers Flak wind farm to Sweden were initiated,
comments in the permitting process for the OX2-Triton and Orsted-Skanes Havsvindpark wind farms in Swedish waters were submitted.

In order to minimise the potential downtime of the pipeline for repair, preparatory actions were identified and taken to ensure availability of complementary repair methods to the solutions provided by the Pipeline Repair and Subsea Intervention (PRSI) organisation.

In October 2023, „Technical Conditions for Operation of Offshore Gas Pipelines” were signed with the Office of Technical Inspection, specifying the rules for operation, inspection and performance of repair works on offshore gas pipelines in Polish territorial waters and the Polish Exclusive Economic Zone.

FSRU Program

GAZ-SYSTEM conducted an Open Season procedure for FSRU (Floating Storage Regasification Unit) to obtain binding orders from market participants for LNG regasification services to be provided at the FSRU Terminal in the Gulf of Gdańsk once it becomes operational. The submitted commitments were to confirm the economic viability of the planned investment project. The Open Season Procedure for the FSRU Terminal consisted of two phases.

Phase 1
Phase 2

The Open Season Procedure was launched in Q4 2021. Its objective was to obtain binding orders from the participants and their binding commitment to book a specific level of FSRU Regasification Services under Phase 2 of the Procedure. Phase 1 ended with the signing of the Order to Proceed (OtP), and GAZ-SYSTEM proceeded with the implementation of the first phase of the project, i.e. initiating the design engineering works.

Commenced in June 2023 with the participant with whom the OtP was signed being invited to submit an offer covering the same regasification volume and the same period of regasification services, i.e. the same gas years, as proposed in the order placed under the OtP contract, by 7 July 2023. On 18 August 2023, GAZ-SYSTEM and the participant signed an agreement for the provision of regasification services at the FSRU Terminal which will constitute an important element of the gas import infrastructure for Poland and the entire CEE region.

The objective of the project is to develop the infrastructure enabling the import of additional volumes of liquefied natural gas delivered by sea, its regasification and sendout into the National Gas Transmission System. The FSRU Program envisages the location of a floating unit capable of offloading and in-process storage and regasification of LNG in Gdańsk area. The FSRU unit is designed to deliver approximately 6.1 bcm of regasified natural gas per year.

In November 2023, the European Commission considered the onshore gas pipelines planned for construction as part of the FSRU Terminal eligible for loans under the National Recovery Plan (NRP) in the REPowerEU chapter on the development of infrastructure required to meet the most urgent security of supply needs (Component G3.2. – Improving energy infrastructure and facilities to meet immediate security of supply needs for gas).

The construction of a floating Terminal in the Gulf of Gdańsk is a step towards a 'green alternative’ to traditional energy carriers and transport fuels. The FSRU terminal will not only fulfil the function of supplying gas to various branches of industry, but will also increase capacity for new customers, especially in the area of Gdańsk. The long-term perspective of the project also includes the development of the ports in Gdańsk and Gdynia. Adapting the port infrastructure to modern transport systems will help meet the anticipated growth in maritime trade around the Baltic Sea.

Incremental procedure

In accordance with the Capacity Allocation Mechanisms Network Code (CAM NC), from 5 July to 30 August 2021 the transmission system operators GAZ-SYSTEM and NET4GAS (N4G) carried out the third non-binding incremental capacity demand assessment procedure which resulted in an incremental capacity demand notification for the Poland-Czech Republic interconnector.

On the basis of the non-binding notifications received, the operators developed a joint market demand assessment report. The report published on 25 October 2021 estimated the potential demand for incremental capacity within the GAZ-SYSTEM entry-exit system and the N4G entry-exit system and stated that an incremental capacity project should be initiated. Based on the report conclusions, the TSOs started the design phase to develop an incremental capacity project.

From 17 January to 17 March 2022, GAZ-SYSTEM and N4G held consultations on the incremental capacity project proposal between the transmission systems of Poland and the Czech Republic. Subsequently, on account of the decision of the General Court of the European Union of 16 March 2022 in the joined cases T-684/19 and T-704/19, the operators and the national regulatory authorities of Poland and the Czech Republic held discussions on the validity and further conduct of the incremental capacity project for the interconnection between Poland and the Czech Republic based on Chapter V of the CAM NC. Due to the impossibility of submitting a joint application to the Energy Regulatory Offices of Poland and the Czech Republic, the President of the ERO had no grounds to issue a coordinated decision on the approval of the incremental capacity project for Poland and the Czech Republic bidding zone border in accordance with CAM NC, no auction of incremental capacity at the bidding zone border between Poland and the Czech Republic was held, and thus the incremental 2021-2023 procedure for the bidding zone border of Poland and the Czech Republic was considered completed.

On 28 April 2023, by decision of the President of the ERO, the administrative proceedings on the application submitted by GAZ-SYSTEM for approval of the incremental capacity project for the Polish and Ukrainian bidding zone border were concluded.

The project submitted for approval was a response to non-binding notifications of market demand for incremental capacity at the GAZ-SYSTEM/UA TSO GCP point, which GAZ-SYSTEM and LLC „Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine” (GTSOU) received as part of the market demand study for incremental capacity between the transmission systems of Poland and Ukraine conducted in 2021 in accordance with the CAM NC. After technical and economic analyses and market consultations of the preliminary project proposal in 2022, GAZ-SYSTEM submitted an application to the President of the ERO for approval of the incremental capacity project for the Poland-Ukraine bidding zone border. In order to obtain coordinated decisions approving the project by national energy regulators, a similar application was submitted by GTSOU to the National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission (NEURC). The President of the ERO considered that the project proposal submitted by GAZ-SYSTEM meets all the substantive prerequisites within the scope of Article 28(1) of CAM NC required for approval of the incremental capacity project for the Poland-Ukraine bidding zone border.

The coordinated decisions received from the regulators formed the basis for holding the incremental capacity auction on the GSA Platform on 3 July 2023. No amount of incremental capacity was booked by any market participant in the abovementioned annual capacity auction and therefore the economic test ended with a negative result on both sides of the border. In accordance with Article 22(3) of the CAM NC, in the event that no bid level results in a positive economic test, the respective incremental capacity process is terminated.

From 3 July to 28 August 2023, GAZ-SYSTEM conducted an assessment of the market demand for incremental capacity between the Polish entry-exit system and the Ukrainian entry-exit system for the second time. As a result of the non-binding market survey, a request for incremental capacity in the direction from Poland to Ukraine was received.

On the basis of the non-binding notifications received, the operators developed a joint market demand assessment report. The report published on 23 October 2023 estimates the potential demand for incremental capacity within the GAZ-SYSTEM entry-exit system and the GTSOU entry-exit system and indicates that an incremental capacity project should be initiated. Based on the conclusions from the report, the Operators started the design phase to develop an incremental capacity project.

Between 5 October and 30 November 2023, GAZ-SYSTEM and GTSOU held consultations on the proposal for an incremental capacity project between the transmission systems of Poland and Ukraine followed by an appropriate incremental capacity project between the transmission systems of Poland and Ukraine in accordance with the CAM NC. On 26 April 2024, the President of the Energy Regulatory Office concluded the administrative proceedings on the application submitted by GAZ-SYSTEM for approval of the incremental capacity project for bidding zone borders of Poland and Ukraine. The ERO President concluded that the project proposal submitted by GAZ-SYSTEM met all the substantive prerequisites for project approval. The incremental capacity auction will be held on 1 July 2024.

Cooperation with transmission system operators

Memorandum of Cooperation with GTSOUA
Memorandum of Cooperation with Energinet

On 16 March 2023, GAZ-SYSTEM and the Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine (GTSOU) signed a Memorandum of Cooperation establishing the principles and directions for building long-term energy security and developing the leading position of operators on the regional natural gas market in the energy transition process.

The document provides for joint efforts to ensure continuous technical capacity towards Ukraine and to obtain financial support from the European Union for this undertaking. The operators declared that they would promote natural gas which is a material component in the economies of both countries, and that they intend to collaborate to enable the cross-border transmission of sustainable gases. The parties to the Memorandum will explore the use of existing LNG, transmission, and storage infrastructure to enhance the energy security in the countries in the region.

Under the signed agreement, Joint Working Groups on Market and Decarbonisation were established. In addition, in March 2023, GAZ-SYSTEM representatives took part in a meeting for Ukrainian gas market participants organised by GTSOU and Uktransgaz with the support of the Energy Community presenting a joint incremental project on the Poland-Ukraine border and the principles of capacity booking through the GSA Platform. In turn, in September 2023, GTSOU representatives participated in the GAZ-SYSTEM Forum meeting presenting the role of the gas transmission system and underground gas storage facilities in Ukraine in enhancing the security of supply in the region ahead of the 2023/2024 winter season.

On 26 April 2023 in Copenhagen, GAZ-SYSTEM and Energinet signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to accelerate the energy transition and strengthen regional energy security in Europe. The agreement established joint working groups on security of supply through Baltic Pipe (SoS) and decarbonisation with the use of biomethane and hydrogen. In 2023, all working groups were inaugurated, the scope of work (Terms of Reference) was approved, and a number of substantive meetings were held, including the exchange of knowledge on biogas and biomethane market development. In 2023, the two companies also participated in a technical workshop on biogas and biomethane organised by the Danish Embassy in Warsaw.