Poland will seek to become a regional distribution centre for American gas to supply neighbouring Slovakia and Ukraine, President Andrzej Nawrocki said while on a visit to Bratislava on November 5.

The plan follows months of discussions between Warsaw, Washington and regional partners over a long-term framework for liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from the United States, Reuters reported on the same day.

Two people familiar with the negotiations told Reuters that Poland is working on a deal to channel American LNG through its terminals to Slovakia and Ukraine, tightening the European Union’s energy ties with the US. 

The replacement is a must for Europe as the EU aims to phase out Russian LNG imports by 2027 under its latest sanctions package. American suppliers already provide about 55% of Europe’s LNG, up from 27% in 2021, according to Reuters. A full replacement of Russian gas would raise that share to more than 80%.

The Polish energy ministry confirmed to Reuters that talks are under way with American, Slovak and Ukrainian counterparts to “boost the energy security of our region.”

“I proposed, following meetings with President Donald Trump, that Poland, in the shortest possible time, become a hub for deliveries of gas from the United States [to Slovakia],” Nawrocki said in Bratislava as he met Slovak President Peter Pellegrini.

“We have a terminal in Świnoujście, and I hope the construction of a floating terminal on the Baltic will soon be completed. We also have an interconnector with Slovakia. Poland’s infrastructure development and our cooperation will lead us toward independence from Russia across the entire region,” Nawrocki also said.

The parties are expected to announce a joint declaration on increased imports after an energy conference in Athens on November 6, paving the way for commercial negotiations on deliveries to Slovakia, according to Reuters.

Potential volumes could reach 4bn to 5bn cubic metres annually—roughly equivalent to Slovakia’s total gas consumption, currently covered by Russia nearly entirely and thus impacting Slovakia’s position on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. 

A US official told Reuters the deal could “seal the shift” away from Russian energy, calling it “a seismic change in how Europe gets its energy.”

The project would build on existing infrastructure that positions Poland as a northern gateway for energy flows into Central Europe. 

The country already operates the Baltic Pipe and a regasification terminal in Świnoujście and is completing a floating terminal on the Gdańsk Bay with a projected annual capacity of 10.6bn cubic metres. 

These facilities, along with the Poland–Slovakia interconnector capable of transferring 4.7bn cubic metres southward, could carry LNG sourced from the United States to Slovakia and onward to Hungary via the Velke Kapusany and Velke Zlevce network.

Poland’s state-controlled refiner and gas trader Orlen already supplies Slovakia’s ZSE Energia with natural gas under a contract running until the end of 2025. The LNG, part of it originating from the US, is regasified at Świnoujście and transported through the Polish and Lithuanian grids into Slovakia.

Poland has also offered gas to Hungary, another CEE economy dependent on Russian fossil fuels and therefore reluctant to sanctioning Moscow, but the talks did not result in a binding deal.