The European Union General Court has overruled a decision from the European Commission (EC) from October 2016 that allowed for Gazprom to access over 12.8 bcm/year (threshold stated before the 2016 ruling) of the total capacity at the OPAL gas pipeline. The EC decision was deemed in breach of the principle of energy solidarity, according to the General Court. The request for annulment was led by the polish company Polskie Górnictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo (PGNiG).
Following the August 2017 auction, in which Gazprom won the right to use the free capacity of the OPAL gas pipeline in Germany, the Russian group raised gas transit capacity from 56 mcm/d up to 71.5 mcm/d (+28%), and cut its gas transit through Ukraine, from 161 mcm/d to 148 mcm/d (-8%). In October 2016, the German Federal Network Agency Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA) and the European Commission (EC) approved lifting the cap on the use by Gazprom of the OPAL facility. Gazprom, which had already access to 50% of the pipeline capacity, was then in a position to deliver more gas to Europe and to bid for an additional 7.7-10.2 bcm in volumes at auction. At least 10% and as much as 20% of the gas pipeline was expected to be made available to other suppliers and if there was no demand, Gazprom would have been allowed to bid for these volumes. PGNIG appealed that decision in December 2016, highlighting the risks of gas supply disruptions or termination, but the European Union Court of Justice (EU Court) rejected the appeal in late July 2017.
The 35 bcm/year OPAL gas pipeline is the onshore section of the 55 bcm/year Nord Stream-1 gas pipeline which transports natural gas from Vyborg (Russia) to customers in Western Europe via a 1,200 km-long pipeline in the Baltic Sea. The OPAL facility was brought into service in 2011 and connects the town of Lubmin (Germany) with the town of Brandov (Czech Republic), completely avoiding the Polish territory. Nord Stream-1 is also connected to the 20 bcm/year NEL (Norddeutsche Erdgasleitung) pipeline.
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