Polish Oil and Gas Company Group (PGNiG) has opened a LNG trading office in London. This way the group becomes one of the players of the LNG global market. The office is expected to become fully operational by the end of Q1 2017.

The branch office was established and is operated by PGNiG Supply & Trading GmbH (PST), which is a subsidiary of PGNiG Polish Oil & Gas Company and its gas and power trading arm in Western Europe. On February 1st, 2017 PST officially opened the office in London to start LNG trading activities.

“With this important step PGNiG goes global as a natural gas player”, commented Piotr Woźniak, President of the Management Board at PGNiG Polish Oil & Gas Company. “London is the European trade center for this commodity. Our presence here will enable us to purchase natural gas for company purposes at more competitive prices. We will also be able to start LNG trading on global markets”, he added.

The office is expected to become fully operational by the end of Q1 2017. It will be the PGNiG group’s international LNG competence and trading center for short-medium term LNG trading. It will also be sourcing alternative spot supplies for the LNG terminal in Świnoujście thus optimizing the booked capacity at the terminal.

“Due to the increase in LNG supplies led by the US and Australia, we expect LNG to become commercially valuable for Europe. This makes LNG an attractive source for the diversification of energy supplies”, said Uwe Bode, managing director of PST. He noted that this is especially interesting for countries such as Poland where gas deliveries from the East still play a dominant role.

About PGNIG

The PGNiG Group is the leader of the Polish natural gas market, as well as the only vertically integrated gas company in Poland. Its parent undertaking is Polskie Górnictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo. Formation of the Group's enabled coordination of the upstream and downstream operations - from exploration and production to storage to trade and distribution of gaseous fuels. The roots of the companies forming PGNiG date back to 19th century - to the beginnings of Polish and world oil industry. The company has been operating under the name PGNiG since 1982. In 1996, the state-owned company PGNiG was transformed into a joint stock company.