DZP is advising Gaz-System on the strategic infrastructure project Baltic Pipe, which is to create a new gas supply corridor on the European market. The Baltic Pipe will connect Poland with Denmark and Norway and will significantly improve Poland's energy security, making our country independent of Russian gas supplies.

On 30 April 2020, OGP Gaz-System S.A. signed a contract with SAIPEM LIMITED for the construction and assembly works involved in laying the Baltic Pipe intersystem gas pipeline on the bottom of the Baltic Sea and connecting the undersea part of the investment with its onshore sections in Poland and Denmark. The offshore part of the gas pipeline will be located in the maritime areas of Poland, Denmark and Sweden. All the permits required to construct the Polish and Danish sections of the project have been obtained and in the coming months the required permits are expected to be obtained for the pipeline section that is to run through the Swedish exclusive economic zone.

As part of its legal and tax advice, DZP provided comprehensive support to Gaz-System in the procedure to select a general contractor to construct the offshore part of the Baltic Pipe.

"Thanks to the contract being signed with the general contractor for the undersea part of the Baltic Pipe, based on the timetable it will be possible for work to start on this strategic investment for Poland as early as the second half of 2020. In addition to the contract to supply pipes for the construction of the pipeline concluded with EUROPIPE GmbH, the contract concluded with SAIPEM LIMITED is of key importance for the timely completion of the project, which is scheduled for autumn 2022, i.e. before the long-term gas supply agreement between PGNiG S.A. and GAZPROM expires." says PaweÅ‚ Grzejszczak, Partner in DZP’s Infrastructure and Energy Practice, responsible for preparing the contracts with both SAIPEM LIMITED and EUROPIPE GmbH.

The contract with SAIPEM LIMITED was signed after a multi-stage procurement procedure involving negotiations with several bidders interested in acting as general contractor for the gas pipeline. The tender lasted several months and DZP provided legal advice at each of its stages, including during negotiations with bidders.

"The Baltic Pipe is a highly complex project in terms of procurement, as it requires the meticulous coordination of several closely related procedures. We are pleased that the key procedure to select a general contractor for the undersea part of the Baltic Pipe has just ended with a contract being signed.” adds Katarzyna Kuźma, Partner in DZP’s Infrastructure and Energy Practice, responsible for advising on procurement procedure issues.

The project is being carried out by an interdisciplinary team led by PaweÅ‚ Grzejszczak, Partner in DZP’s Infrastructure and Energy Practice, who specialises in energy and contract issues, and by Katarzyna Kuźma, Partner in DZP’s Infrastructure and Energy Practice, who specialises in procurement procedures. The project team also includes Dr Wojciech Hartung, Counsel, and Weronika JÄ™drzejewska, Associate.

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More about the Baltic Pipe project:

"The Baltic Pipe is a strategic infrastructure project aimed at creating a new gas supply corridor on the European market.

The investment will enable gas to be transported from Norway to the Danish and Polish markets, and to end users in neighbouring countries. The Baltic Pipe will also enable gas transmission from Poland to Denmark.

The project is being implemented by the Polish gas transmission pipeline operator GAZ-SYSTEM and the Danish gas transmission system operator Energinet."

https://www.baltic-pipe.eu/