Polish, US officials discussed boosting US LNG supplies to Central Europe

WARSAW, Oct 21 (Reuters) – Top Polish and U.S. energy officials discussed a potential boost of supplies of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) via Poland to Central Europe to reduce the region's dependence on Russian gas, Poland's energy ministry said on Tuesday. Last week, Poland's Deputy Energy Minister Wojciech Wrochna and U.S. energy secretary Chris Wright discussed in Washington LNG supplies and the construction of Poland's first nuclear plant to be built by Westinghouse, it said. "An important topic of the talks was the potential to increase supplies of American LNG through the Polish gas hub for domestic needs and to make Central European countries, including Ukraine, independent from supplies from the East," the ministry said in a statement. Poland's existing LNG terminal and another one the country is now building will provide enough capacity to enable supplies to its southern-eastern neighbors, Slovakia and Ukraine. European Union energy ministers on Monday backed a proposal to phase out Russian oil and gas imports to the bloc by January 2028, the Council of the European Union said. The proposal allows for some flexibilities for landlocked member states, which include Hungary and Slovakia. Poland's Orlen has started shipping U.S. gas to Ukraine this year to help Kyiv replenish stores ahead of winter. (Reporting by Marek Strzelecki; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

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