Since Russia sharply reduced gas supplies to Europe in 2022, Poland has emerged as a key regional gas crossroads, underpinned by its Swinoujscie LNG terminal, expanded interconnections and access to Baltic and North Sea supplies.

Gas grid operator Gaz‑System has strengthened this role through infrastructure upgrades, tariff reforms and the repurposing of the Yamal pipeline from Germany into a west‑to‑east corridor. As other transport routes take shape across central and eastern Europe and global gas markets remain volatile, the focus is now on whether Poland can draw sufficient interest for its planned Gdansk LNG terminal and expanded export capacity, including flows to Ukraine.

Speaking to ICIS senior reporter Aura Sabadus, Agnieszka Ozga, director for energy transition, and Stanislaw Brzeczkowski, chief engineer at Gaz‑System, explained the steps that are taken to position Poland as a major transshipment hub.

Energy markets were jolted into crisis after war erupted in the Middle East on 28 February, abruptly ending expectations of a calm year marked by abundant oil and gas supply and falling prices.

As the conflict escalated, energy infrastructure across the Gulf came under attack and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz ground to a halt amid sharply rising security risks.

Oil and gas prices have since doubled, while market volatility remains exceptionally high. Key questions now loom large. How will European policymakers respond? At what point will sustained high prices begin to trigger meaningful oil and gas demand destruction in Asia?

To answer all these, senior journalist Aura Sabadus has invited ICIS global LNG editor Ed Cox, crude oil editor Barney Gray and head of gas analytics Andreas Schroeder for a forward-looking discussion.

The US-Israeli led war against Iran has unleashed extreme volatility across energy markets, with natural gas prices rising as much as 70% in the first ten days of March.

Traders fear that the longer the shortfall lasts the more difficult it will become to refill gas stocks.

While the fog of war remains thick in Iran and the Gulf, traders are struggling to get clarity and some degree of predictability. To find out how they navigate this situation and how events are seen by LNG traders, ICIS reporter Aura Sabadus caught up with James O’Brien, head of LNG at D.Trading, the trading arm of leading Ukrainian oil, gas and electricity private producer DTEK, and Luca Palmeri, CEO and founder of MCND, a dedicated consultancy, and himself a former senior LNG trader.