Storage
The storage business plays a key role in stabilising the volatile demand for natural gas and ensuring secure gas supplies to our customers. Given the development of the market and the need to harmonise storage capacities with legal requirements, PGNiG is involved in projects designed to expand existing, and construct new underground gas storage facilities.
By 2015, the planned expansion projects are expected to increase our storage capacities to approximately 3bn m3.
The updated strategy sets the following strategic objectives relating to the storage capacity expansion:
- To ensure sufficient storage capacity;
- To spin off the Storage System Operator business into a new entity;
- To maintain possibly high margins on the storage business following the launch of new underground gas storage facilities.
Actions taken to pursue these objectives include:
- Increasing storage capacities by ca. 1.4bn m3, to a total of ca. 3.0bn m3 (projects partially financed with dedicated EU funds);
- Rstablishing an internal structure for the spun-off Storage System Operator and executing service agreements;
- Maintaining the pre-tax WACC at 8–10% and maximising sales of storage services.
Our achievements to-date
Since 2009, PGNiG has held the status of Storage System Operator. In March 2011, PGNiG applied to the President of the Energy Regulatory Office for designation of Operator Systemu Magazynowania Sp. z o.o. as the Storage System Operator for gas fuels, and the granting of a licence for storage of gas fuels in storage facilities. These steps were taken with a view to meeting the obligations under Regulation (EC) No. 715/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of July 13th 2009 on conditions for access to the natural gas transmission networks, and repealing Regulation (EC) No. 1775/2005.
In December 2011, the new gas fuel storage tariff, No. 1/2011, came into force. The tariff was determined on the basis of, among other things, Regulation (EC) No. 715/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of July 13th 2009 on conditions for access to the natural gas transmission networks (“Regulation 715/2009”), issued as part of the 3rd energy package. The new tariff specifies charge rates applicable to storage services: (1) in the form of packages, flexible packages or individual services; (2) provided on a continuous or intermittent basis, (3) provided as long-term, short-term or daily services.
In 2011, 730m m3 of additional storage capacity were made available under long-term gas fuel storage services provided on an intermittent basis at the Strachocina, Swarzów, Brzeźnica, Wierzchowice and Husów facilities, and 21.5m m3 under short-term gas fuel storage services provided on an intermittent basis at the Mogilno cavern.
In 2011, ca. 75% of the total funds allocated to the construction and expansion of high-methane gas storage facilities was spent to extend the Wierzchowice facility, the largest natural gas storage facility in Poland. Also in 2011, PGNiG completed construction and assembly work on the extension of the Strachocina facility and commenced tests and analyses to determine its operating parameters and other characteristics. We also continued construction of a new high-methane gas storage facility in the Kosakowo cavern, and extension of the Mogilno cavern.