Poland tells Norway to hand over oil revenues
Norway should share the “excess” profits it’s been making as oil and gas prices soar amid the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said at the National Youth Dialogue Congress on Saturday.
“But should we be paying Norway gigantic money for gas – four or five times more than we paid a year ago? This is sick,” he said, claiming that the excess of the annual average gas and oil profit “will exceed €100 billion” this year for a country of five million people like Norway.
“They should share these excess profits. It’s not normal, it’s unjust. This is an indirect preying on the war started by Putin,” the PM said.
Morawiecki also urged young Poles to go and shame their Norwegian “friends” over the fat gas profits online to push the country into sharing the wealth.
“Write to your young friends in Norway,” he said. “They should share it immediately,” Morawiecki stated, adding that it shouldn’t necessarily be shared with Poland, but with Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Poland’s main gas company, state-controlled PGNiG SA, saw its Ebitda (or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) profits almost double in the first quarter, reaching some $2.19 billion, writes Bloomberg. The profit was primarily generated by the Norwegian unit of the state-owned Polish company, which accounted for almost half of the massive figure.
Moreover, Poland was actively stocking up on gas before getting cut off by Russia, with German Gascade reporting a major spike in reverse gas flow in late April. Moscow stopped the gas supply to the country last month following Warsaw’s refusal to pay for fuel in rubles under a new scheme rolled out by Russia in response to the European sanctions.
Poland has seen its demand for gas steadily grow in recent past years as the country strives to phase-out old coal-fired equipment. Warsaw is expected to complete a gas pipeline from Norway later this year, a major project expected to help Poland to reduce its reliance on Russian gas.
