Warsaw — Poland is ready to offer Germany access to the 10 Bcm a year Baltic Pipe that will deliver gas from Norway if Berlin halts construction of the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, a government spokesman said Sept. 10.

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Poland has been a long-term opponent of the 55 Bcm/year Nord Stream 2 project and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called on Germany and the EU on Sept. 9 to stop construction of the pipeline because, he said, it strengthened Russia and enabled it to intimidate other countries.

Poland plans to begin gas imports from Norway via the Baltic Pipe from October 2022, allowing it to diversify further its gas supply away from Russia. Gas entering Poland via the new route could then flow onward to Germany.

"We have to consider various options when it comes to energy security," government spokesman Piotr Muller said on Polish television Sept 10.

"From the beginning, Poland has emphasized that European solidarity in this area must be maintained. That's why, if Germany declares energy needs, Poland is open to it using the infrastructure that we are building for our own energy security," he said.

Baltic Pipe is a Eur1.6 billion-Eur2.1 billion ($1.9 billion-$2.5 billion) joint venture between the Polish and Danish TSOs, Gaz-System and Energinet, that includes a 275-km (171-mile) Baltic Sea pipeline between Poland and Denmark and a connection to Norway's Europe II pipeline in the North Sea.

The project has a complete set of construction permits and work starts this month to prepare the pipe landfalls in both Poland and Denmark. The investment is scheduled to be complete in October 2022. Poland's state-owned gas company, PGNiG, has reserved 8.2 Bcm/year of the pipeline's capacity.