Poland is emerging as a regional gas hub after setting a new record for natural gas transmission in 2025, Polish industry news website wnp.pl reported on December 2.

Gaz-System, the state-owned transmission system operator, is on track to deliver close to 20bn cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas this year — the highest volume in the company’s history. While domestic transmission levels have remained steady, it is the surge in exports that is driving this transformation as Europe’s gas market is being transformed by geopolitics.

“Gaz-System has never transmitted so much gas,” Sławomir Hinc, the company’s president, told wnp.pl, confirming 2025 will be a bumper year for the company.

Exports — or more accurately, re-exports — are expected to hit 1.9 bcm to 2 bcm by the end of the year, up from 1.3 bcm in 2024 and just several hundred million cubic metres in prior years.

Infrastructure investment

This dramatic growth is the result of years of investment in cross-border infrastructure and the end of operations by the Russian pipelines that used to supply a third of Europe’s gas needs.

Poland has expanded its interconnectors linking its gas grid to those of neighbouring countries, including Germany, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and, crucially, Ukraine. 

These projects — combined with the launch of the Baltic Pipe and the Świnoujście LNG terminal — have enabled Poland to reposition itself from a peripheral energy consumer to a crucial transit and supply centre in Central and Eastern Europe at a time when alternative supplies of gas are limited.

Thanks to infrastructure investments, re-exported Polish gas now flows west to Germany and south to Slovakia, but increasingly east to Ukraine — reversing long-standing east-to-west dynamics.

With Ukrainian energy infrastructure battered by Russia’s war, Poland has become a key route for gas deliveries to Kyiv.

“Our country has made a huge investment effort,” said Hinc. “The fact that these pipelines are now increasingly used means that Gaz-System is not only playing a geopolitical role, but also generating revenue from this transit capacity.”

Natural gas exports could climb further in 2026 — potentially to 3 bcm — depending on new supply contracts and winter demand across the region.

A ‘permanently transitional’ fuel

Despite an EU-wide push to decarbonise, natural gas remains central to Europe’s energy mix. Its appeal lies in its relative cleanliness compared to coal — emitting roughly half as much CO₂ — and in its flexibility. Gas-fired power plants can ramp up quickly, providing reliable back-up for variable renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.

This resilience has helped reinforce gas's role as a “permanently transitional” fuel. With over 500 bcm of gas consumed annually in Europe, the ability to import and redistribute it efficiently has become a strategic asset — one that Poland is now capitalising on.

While domestic gas demand in Poland remains flat at around 18 bcm annually, the real growth opportunity lies in exports. And with a second LNG terminal (an FSRU) under construction in the Bay of Gdańsk, Warsaw is positioning itself to further solidify its regional leadership in energy supply.​