Following the 1 August 2017 auction in which Gazprom won the right to use the free capacity of the OPAL gas pipeline in Germany, the Russian group has raised gas transit capacity through the OPAL from 56 mcm/d up to 71.5 mcm/d (+28%), while cutting gas transit through Ukraine, from 161 mcm/d to 148 mcm/d (-8%).
The 35 bcm/year OPAL gas pipeline is connected to the 55 bcm/year Nord Stream offshore gas pipeline, which transports natural gas from Vyborg (Russia) to Greifswald in Germany via a 1,200 km-long pipeline in the Baltic Sea. The OPAL gas pipeline was brought into service in 2011 and connects the town of Lubmin (near Greifswald in Germany) with the town of Brandov (Czech Republic), completely avoiding the Polish territory.
In October 2016, the European Commission approved expanding Gazprom's access to OPAL. Poland and Polish gas company Polskie Górnictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo (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. Poland is also opposed to Gazprom's plans to double the capacity of the Nord Stream gas pipeline.