Energy infrastructures in the eastern bloc poland and the construction of transnational electricity, oil, and gas systems

Studien zur Sozial- und
Wirtschaftsgeschichte Ostmitteleuropas

26

Falk Flade

Energy Infrastructures
in the Eastern Bloc
Poland and the Construction of Transnational Electricity,
Oil, and Gas Systems

Harrassowitz


Falk Flade
Energy Infrastructures in the Eastern Bloc

© 2017, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden
ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10904-8 - ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19676-5


Studien zur Sozial- und
Wirtschaftsgeschichte Ostmitteleuropas
Herausgegeben von
Werner Benecke, Christoph Boyer, Ulf Brunnbauer,
Uwe Müller, Alexander Nützenadel und Philipp Ther

Band 26

2017

Harrassowitz Verlag . Wiesbaden

© 2017, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden
ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10904-8 - ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19676-5


Falk Flade

Energy Infrastructures
in the Eastern Bloc
Poland and the Construction of Transnational Electricity,
Oil, and Gas Systems

2017

Harrassowitz Verlag . Wiesbaden

© 2017, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden
ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10904-8 - ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19676-5


The series continues the »Frankfurter Studien zur Wirtschafts- und Sozialgeschichte
Ostmitteleuropas«, whose volumes 1–16 have been published in the Berliner Wissenschaftsverlag.
Scientific Advisory Board:
Roman Holec, Jerzy Kochanowski, Claudia Kraft, Rudolf Kučera, Torsten Lorenz,
Ágnes Pogány, Béla Tomka, Hans-Jürgen Wagener.
All volumes of the series go through a peer-review process.
Cover Illustration:
Left side: Worker of the construction company Energopol at the Polish section of the

͡
Soiuz
gas pipeline near Kharkov in eastern Ukraine, 1976. © Polska Agencja Prasowa/
Mariusz Szyperko.
Right side: View of the Druzhba pipeline and the power transmission line Mir in the
Zakarpattia region, 1965. © Polska Agencja Prasowa/ITAR-TASS.

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for Inna

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ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10904-8 - ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19676-5


Content
Figures and tables .............................................................................................................

7

Abbreviations ...................................................................................................................

9

Acknowledgement ............................................................................................................

13

1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................
1.1 Prolog ....................................................................................................................

1.2 Object of study ......................................................................................................
1.3 Literature overview ...............................................................................................
1.4 Research questions and theses ..............................................................................
1.5 Methods and sources .............................................................................................
1.6 Theoretical approach .............................................................................................
1.6.1 Large Technological Systems ............................................................................
1.6.2 Critical assessment .............................................................................................
1.6.3 Applied concepts ................................................................................................
1.7 Outline ..................................................................................................................

15
15
18
20
24
26
27
27
34
35
37

2 Energy infrastructures in pre-war Poland ......................................................................
2.1 The heritage of the Galician oil industry ...............................................................
2.2 Plans and endeavors in the 1920s .........................................................................
2.3 The Central Industrial District ..............................................................................
2.4 Summary ...............................................................................................................

38
38

40
42
46

3 Initiating cross-border energy infrastructures ................................................................
3.1 Historical background ...........................................................................................
3.1.1 Implementation of planned economies ..............................................................
3.1.2 Modes of cooperation during post-war Stalinism ..............................................
3.1.3 The Marshall Plan and the foundation of the CMEA .........................................
3.2 The beginning of cross-border cooperation ..........................................................
3.2.1 The energy-hungry Hungarian aluminum industry ............................................
3.2.2 Negotiating four-sided electricity deliveries ......................................................
3.2.3 The pricing debate..............................................................................................
3.3 The Standing Commission for Electric Energy .....................................................
3.3.1 Gidroproektʼs proposal ......................................................................................
3.3.2 Teploėlektroproekt’s proposal ...........................................................................
3.4 The electricity network Mir ..................................................................................
3.4.1 The Central Dispatching Organization ...............................................................
3.4.2 The electricity hub Mukachevo ..........................................................................
3.4.3 Early plans for East-West electricity deliveries .................................................
3.5 Summary ...............................................................................................................

47
47
48
49
51
54
54
55

57
59
62
64
66
68
70
71
72

© 2017, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden
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4

Content

4 The Druzhba oil pipeline .............................................................................................. 75
4.1 Changing energy consumption in Eastern Europe ............................................... 75
4.1.1 The chemicalization campaign .......................................................................... 76
4.1.2 Oil import forecasts and the transport question ................................................. 77
4.2 Pipeline construction ............................................................................................ 80
4.2.1 The planning procedure ..................................................................................... 80
4.2.2 Construction work ............................................................................................. 84
4.2.3 Western obstruction ........................................................................................... 89
4.2.4 Consequences of the Druzhba pipeline ............................................................. 93
4.3 Extending the pipeline network ............................................................................ 96
4.3.1 The second Druzhba pipeline ............................................................................ 97
4.3.2 Plans for additional in- and outlets .................................................................... 101

4.4 Summary .............................................................................................................. 103
5 The Soi͡uz gas pipeline ..................................................................................................
5.1 The Complex Program .........................................................................................
5.2 Soi͡uz as a flagship project? ..................................................................................
5.2.1 Posting of workforce .........................................................................................
5.2.2 Joint purchases of Western products .................................................................
5.2.3 The International Investment Bank ...................................................................
5.2.4 Repercussions of the Polish debt crisis .............................................................
5.3 Further system growth without integration ..........................................................
5.4 Summary ..............................................................................................................

106
106
109
113
120
122
127
130
132

6 Stagnation in the East European nuclear energy sector ................................................
6.1 Impacts of the oil crises ........................................................................................
6.1.1 Excursus: the discussion about Soviet subsidization .........................................
6.2 Ambitious plans for the electricity network Mir ..................................................
6.2.1 New institutions and agreements .......................................................................
6.2.2 The General Scheme for the Long-Term Development of Mir .........................
6.2.3 Joint construction of the NPP Khmeľnit͡skiĭ ......................................................
6.3 The “NPP Żarnowiec under construction” ...........................................................
6.3.1 Initial plans for a Polish NPP ............................................................................

6.3.2 Crumbling cross-border supply chains ..............................................................
6.3.3 The Chernobyl disaster ......................................................................................
6.3.4 Growing counterculture .....................................................................................
6.3.5 The end of the “NPP Żarnowiec under construction” .......................................
6.4 Summary ..............................................................................................................

135
135
141
143
143
147
153
158
158
160
163
165
170
172

7 Impacts of changing institutional frameworks ..............................................................
7.1 Electricity sector ...................................................................................................
7.1.1 Transition from Mir to ENTSO-E .....................................................................
7.1.2 Nuclear plans in Poland .....................................................................................
7.2 Gas sector .............................................................................................................
7.2.1 Supply security versus transport autarky ...........................................................
7.2.2 The post-socialist gas infrastructure ..................................................................

175

175
176
179
185
186
189

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Content

7.3 Oil sector ...............................................................................................................
7.3.1 Diversification attempts despite low vulnerability .............................................
7.3.2 The Druzhba pipeline: worn out or indispensable? ............................................
7.4 Summary ...............................................................................................................

5
194
195
196
198

8 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 200
9 Color plates.................................................................................................................... 209
10 Bibliography ................................................................................................................
10.1 Archival sources..................................................................................................
10.2 Interviews ............................................................................................................
10.3 Official documents ..............................................................................................

10.4 Web-published material ......................................................................................
10.5 Secondary literature ............................................................................................

216
216
217
217
217
218

11 Index ............................................................................................................................ 231

© 2017, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden
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© 2017, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden
ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10904-8 - ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19676-5


Figures and tables
1.1:
1.2:

Polish import dependency on oil and gas (1990–2018).........................................
Polish gas imports from Russia (1990–2014)........................................................

17
18

2.1:
2.2:

Planned 150 kV electricity network in COP (1937) ..............................................
Gas pipeline network in COP (1939) ....................................................................

43
45

3.1:
3.2:
3.3:
3.4:
3.5:
3.6:

Electricity deficit of the Hungarian aluminum industry (1956–60) ...................... 56
Cross-border transmission lines between CMEA countries (1960)....................... 209
Electricity consumption of CMEA countries (1955–65) ....................................... 61
Saving potential of a unified electricity network (1959) ....................................... 67
Intrabloc electricity deliveries (1962) ................................................................... 69
Cross-border transmission lines between CMEA countries (1967)....................... 210

4.1:
4.2:
4.3:
4.4:
4.5:
4.6:
4.7:

4.8:
4.9:
4.10:
4.11:

Planned oil imports of CMEA countries from the Soviet Union (1957–60) .........
Oil import demands of CMEA countries from the Soviet Union (1960–75) ........
The Druzhba oil pipeline (1964) ...........................................................................
Planned oil imports through the Druzhba pipeline (1962–75) ..............................
Cost estimates for the Druzhba pipeline (1959) ....................................................
Planned pipe supplies for the section Kuĭbyshev-Mozyr’ (1959) .........................
Construction costs of the Druzhba pipeline (1964) ...............................................
Forms of transport of Polish oil imports (1968–75) ..............................................
Oil transport through the Druzhba pipeline (1970–75) .........................................
The extended Druzhba pipeline system (1975) .....................................................
Share of Soviet crude oil exports to CMEA countries (1960–89) .........................

77
78
211
82
83
85
95
97
100
211
105

5.1:

5.2:
5.3:
5.4:
5.5:
5.6:
5.7:
5.8:

The Soi͡uz gas pipeline (1979) ...............................................................................
Sections of the Soi͡uz gas pipeline (1975) .............................................................
Energopol’s engagement in the Soviet Union (1975–85)......................................
Number of employees in the Soi͡uz project (1977) ................................................
Polish share of total construction costs of the Soi͡uz pipeline (1981) ....................
Credits raised by the IIB for the Soi͡uz project (1978)...........................................
Soviet share of oil and gas supplies to CMEA countries (1973–80) .....................
Energy self-sufficiency of CMEA countries (1950–78)........................................

212
212
117
119
124
125
134
134

6.1:
6.2:
6.3:
6.4:

6.5:

Soviet gas import prices (1973–77).......................................................................
World market and intrabloc crude oil prices (1972–82)........................................
Key numbers of the Polish energy system (1960–90) ...........................................
Planned nuclear power production capacity in CMEA countries (1976–90) ........
Projected 750 kV network of the Mir electricity grid (1990) ................................

138
140
148
149
213

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8

Figures and tables

6.6:
6.7:
6.8:
6.9:
6.10:
6.11:

Financial assessment of Mir network (1975) ........................................................

Electricity exchange between CMEA and neighboring countries (1981) .............
Share of nuclear energy in CMEA countries (1970–90).......................................
Polish contributions to the Khmeľnit͡skiĭ NPP (1979–85) ....................................
Key numbers of planned NPPs in Poland (1985–2000) .......................................
Scheme of a NPP with VVER technology............................................................

150
214
151
154
159
215

7.1:
7.2:
7.3:
7.4:
7.5:
7.6:
7.7:

Energy intensity in EU and CEE countries (1992–98) .........................................
Attitude towards NPPs in Poland (1987–2013) ....................................................
Government targets for nuclear energy (2010–35) ...............................................
Projected Polish energy mix (2030)......................................................................
Energy import dependency in Poland and Germany (1995–2013) .......................
Capacity of gas pipelines from Russia (2015) ......................................................
Oil imports of Visegrád countries through the Druzhba pipeline (2012) .............

176

181
183
184
186
189
197

8.1:

Poland’s transnational cooperation regarding energy infrastructures ................... 208

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Abbreviations
AAN
AMSZ
ARM
BArch
BBC
bcm
BEMIP
BPS
CBOS
CDO
CEE
CIGRÉ
CIS
CMEA

CoCom
ComInform
COP
CPSU
DIN
EBRD
EC
ECT
ENTSO-E
ENTSO-G
EU
FDJ
FSRU
GARF
GDP
GDR
GIPL
GKĖS
Glavgaz
GNP
GOĖLRO
GOST
GWh
IAEA
i.e.

Archiwum Akt Nowych
Archiwum Ministerstwa Spraw Zagranicznych
Archiwum Rady Ministrów
Bundesarchiv

British Broadcasting Corporation
billion cubic meters
Baltic Energy Market Interconnection Plan
Baltic Pipeline System
Centrum Badania Opinii Społecznej
Central Dispatching Organization
Central and Eastern Europe
Conseil International des Grands Réseaux Électriques
Commonwealth of Independent States
Council of Mutual Economic Aid
Coordinating Committee for East-West Trade Policy
Communist Information Bureau
Centralny Okręg Przemysłowy
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Deutsches Institut für Normung
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
European Commission
Energy Charter Treaty
European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity
European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas
European Union
Freie Deutsche Jugend
Floating Storage Regasification Unit
Gosudarstvennyĭ Arkhiv Rossiĭskoĭ Federat͡sii
Gross Domestic Product
German Democratic Republic
Gas Interconnection Poland-Lithuania
Gosudarstvennyĭ Komitet po Vneshnim Ėkonomicheskim Svi͡azi͡am
Glavnoe Upravlenie Gazovoĭ Promyshlennosti
Gross National Product

Gosudarstvennai͡a Komissii͡a po Ėlektrifikat͡sii Rossii
Gosudarstvennyĭ Standart
gigawatt hours
International Atomic Energy Agency
id est
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10

Abbreviations

IEA
IIB
ISO
km
kV
kWh
LIBOR
LNG
LTS
m
Minėnergo
Mingazprom
Minneftegazstroĭ
mm
MW
NATO
NEL

NPP
OAPEC
OECD
OEEC
OPAL
OSZhD
PCI
PERN
PGE
PGNiG
PiS
PO
PSE
PZPR
RBMK
REPCO
RGAE
SED
SLD
TEN-E
TPA
TR
TSO
TWh
UCPTE
UCTE
UNECE

International Energy Agency
International Investment Bank

International Organization for Standardization
kilometer
kilovolt
kilowatt hour
London Interbank Offered Rate
Liquefied Natural Gas
Large Technological System
meter
Ministerstvo Ėnergetiki i Ėlektrifikat͡sii
Ministerstvo Gazovoĭ Promyshlennosti
Ministerstvo Stroiteľstva Predprii͡atiĭ Nefti͡anoĭ i Gazovoĭ
Promyshlennosti
millimeter
Megawatt
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Nordeuropäische Erdgasleitung
Nuclear Power Plant
Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Organisation for European Economic Co-operation
Ostsee-Pipeline-Anbindungsleitung
Organizat͡sii͡a Sotrudnichestva Zheleznykh Dorog
Project of Common Interest
Przedsiębiorstwo Eksploatacji Rurociągów Naftowych
Polska Grupa Energetyczna
Polskie Górnictwo Naftowe i Gazowe
Prawo i Sprawiedliwość
Platforma Obywatelska
Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne
Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza

Reaktor Boľshoĭ Moshchnosti Kanaľnyĭ
Russian Export Blend Crude Oil
Rossiĭskiĭ Gosudarstvennyĭ Arkhiv Ėkonomiki
Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands
Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej
Trans-European Energy Network
Third Party Access
Transferable Ruble
Transmission System Operator
terawatt hour
Union for the Coordination of Production and Transmission of Electricity
Union for the Coordination of the Transmission of Electricity
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

© 2017, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden
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Abbreviations

UNIPEDE
US
VVER
WiP
ZMS

International Union of Producers of Electrical Energy
United States
Vodo-Vodi͡anoĭ Ėnergeticheskiĭ Reaktor
Wolność i Pokój

Związek Młodzieży Socjalistycznej

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11


© 2017, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden
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Acknowledgement
Working on a PhD project over the course of almost five years has brought me in contact
with a broad range of different people. Some of these contacts were temporary, others will
hopefully last for the rest of my life. These people supported the project in a practical or
intellectual way in working groups and archives, at conferences and workshops.
My supervisor Dagmara Jajeśniak-Quast had the largest influence on my PhD project.
She turned my attention to energy history, which became my own hobbyhorse in the
following years. In addition, I largely benefited from her extensive scientific network. The
reviewer of this work, Heiko Pleines, helped me to improve important aspects of my study
thanks to his constructive criticism.
As a member of a doctoral college, I profited from regular colloquia, field trips as well as
the exchange with my fellow doctoral candidates. Although all of them had their own
disciplinary focuses, there was always the opportunity to discuss the advantages and pitfalls
of our lives as PhD students. This is true especially for Anna Maria Steinkamp as well as
Hanna Malik, with whom I shared a study room. Jonas Grygier’s hospitality and permanent
readiness to help facilitated my start as a PhD student. The Hanns Seidel Foundation provided
all of us in an uncomplicated manner with the necessary long-term scholarships.
This study would not have been possible without archive stays in Warsaw and Moscow.

Next to conference trips all over Europe, these visits formed the most interesting part of my
research. Thanks to grants from the local German Historical Institutes, I was able to work
and live in these capitals for several months. My respective supervisors Jens Boysen
(Warsaw) and Matthias Uhl (Moscow) provided me with helpful information about the functioning of local archives. Without this information, I probably would not have found
important sources, although archive employees were helpful everywhere. The German Historical Institutes’ staff gave practical support regarding administrational issues and housing.
I appreciate the readiness of my private hosts in Moscow and Warsaw to share their flats with
strangers like me.
Furthermore, I would like to thank other scholars, who supported my PhD project. HansJürgen Wagener commented in detail on the entire study. The realization of some of these
points further improved the quality of this book. Vincent Lagendijk gave helpful feedback
on my theory chapter. Łukasz Dwilewicz provided me with fast and competent answers on
details concerning Polish energy history. Lorenz Lüthi generously shared valuable archive
material with me. Jeronim Perović gave helpful comments, which improved the chapter
regarding the Druzhba pipeline. Philipp Zessin-Jurek supported me with his overall insights
in the field of scientific work. I am also grateful to Paweł Bożyk as well as Andrzej Karpiński,
both of whom agreed to share their wealth of experience with me in the form of telephone
interviews.
Moreover, I would like to thank the staff of the Center for Interdisciplinary Polish Studies,
which became an inspiring working environment for me. My thanks to my former colleagues

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14

Acknowledgement

in the pol-int project, especially to Dorothea Traupe and Andrzej Ceglarz for their engagement and kindness. I am also grateful to the then head of the Hannah Arendt Institute, Günther
Heydemann as well as Hannelore Georgi for their initial support to get my PhD project
started.

Finally, I would like to thank the publisher for accepting my work. The publication was
generously supported by a grant of the Viadrina International Program for Graduates.
I dedicate this book to my wife
outcome of this endeavor.

Falk Flade

Frankfurt (Oder), August 2017

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1 Introduction
This study covers a time range spanning from the late 19th century to the latest developments
in the European energy sector. Of particular interest is the socialist period. The following
chapter will introduce the reader to the overall idea of this work. Special attention will be
paid to both the subject and the research approach. The general aim is to illustrate the topicality of this study as well as the applied working methods.

1.1 Prolog
Energy dependency has been on top of the political agenda in Poland for more than a decade.
This is true not only for the Polish energy policy but for Polish politics in general. Governments formed by the political parties Prawo i Sprawiedliwości (PiS) as well as Platforma
Obywatelska (PO) highlighted the dangers arising from energy dependency. 1 Standpoints
differed insignificantly and mainly referred to the question of a more cooperative approach
at the European Union (EU) level or a more autonomous stance. This is a remarkable fact
considering the ideological cleavages in Polish politics. One of the main reasons for this relatively stable consensus has been the steady rise of the oil price2 and the aggressive
comeback of Russia as a great power since the year 2000.
The years 2005 and 2006 constituted a major turning point in Polish energy politics for
three reasons. First, the Russian-Ukrainian gas crisis revealed that Russia is ready to exploit
its position as the main gas supplier for members of the Commonwealth of Independent States

(CIS) as well as Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) 3 with the goal of achieving political
advantages. Although similar crises had occurred in CIS countries before, this time the political motivation in the context of the Orange Revolution was obvious. Second, the crisis concurred with the accession to power of PiS in late 2005, which was willing to politicize the
issue of energy dependency. Reactions of the new government included the decision to
construct a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal 4 and the demand for a solidary energy
policy at EU level labelled “Energy NATO.”5 Third, in summer 2005, West European and
1 Earlier governments addressed the topic rather broadly. The SLD (Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej)
government released a corresponding document in January 2005. Ministerstwo Gospodarki i Pracy
(2005): Polityka energetyczna Polski do 2025 roku. Warsaw.
2 The price for one barrel of Brent crude oil increased from 10 US $ in December 1998 to 144 US $ in July
2008.
3 By CEE, I will refer to former socialist countries in Europe (except the GDR), which are not members or
associates of CIS: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary,
Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
4 Kubiak, Krzysztof (2010): Polska wobec importu skroplonego gazu ziemnego. Szanse – zagrożenia –
wyzwania. In: Mickiewicz, Piotr; Sokołowska, Patrycja (eds.): Bezpieczeństwo energetyczne Europy
środkowej. Toruń, p. 204.
5 Lang, Kai-Olaf (2006): Mit Sicherheit. Polens Energiepolitik zwischen europäischer Solidarität und

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16

Introduction

Russian gas companies agreed to construct the Nord Stream pipeline in order to establish a
direct link between the Russian supplier and consumers in Western Europe. From a Polish
point of view, this was unacceptable because Poland and other countries of the region would
lose their importance as transit countries. The West European-Russian agreement spurred

fears that CEE countries could be left alone vis-à-vis Russia, since their status as transit
countries was a decisive trump in order to counterweigh energy dependencies. Warnings of
a new “gas curtain” were issued referring to the potential of Nord Stream to divide old and
new EU member countries.6 The medial climax was a statement by Radosław Sikorski, then
Polish defense minister, who compared the German-Russian cooperation concerning the
Nord Stream pipeline with the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact preceding the Second World War.7
This sequence of events reoccurred in a similar pattern several years later, this time under
the leadership of PO. Once again, yet another Russian-Ukrainian gas crisis was the trigger.
After the disruption of gas supplies seriously affecting CEE countries, a heated debate concerning the Polish energy security took place in the Sejm in January 2009. Member of
Parliament Paweł Kowal found the clearest words:8
“For years, they have been saying that Russia could cut off gas [deliveries], but in
reality would never do it. Now it did. They tried to convince us that it is enough to
have good relations to Gazprom […], not to meddle in disputes with Russia, but to sit
quietly and feel safe. No matter what to think about this approach, today we already
know that this is not relevant any more. Last week’s incidents hit the quiet CEE countries the hardest.”
Several months later, the Polish government published a strategy paper on energy policy.
Next to energy efficiency, supply security and diversification of energy supplies ranked
highest.9 Furthermore, the construction of a nuclear power plant (NPP) figured prominently
in the document, although the idea had already been proposed several years earlier. Further
hopes were set on shale gas deposits in northern and eastern Poland. The National Geological
Institute proclaimed that shale gas would be able to ensure energy security for several
decades.10 The Energy Union proposed by Donald Tusk in 2014 in parts resembled the
Energy NATO, which had been discussed in 2006. Once again, solidarity and a common
bargaining position towards major energy suppliers were at the heart of the proposal. 11
Beyond that, another pipeline project circumventing CEE countries again caused widespread
political turmoil. The extension of the Nord Stream pipeline poses the same threats as its
russischer Abhängigkeit. In: Polen-Analysen 2, pp. 5-6.
6 Młynarski, Tomasz (2011): Bezpieczeństwo energetyczne w pierwszej dekadzie XXI wieku. Mozaika
interesów i geostrategii. Cracow, p. 139.
7 Kloth, Hans Michael (01.05.2006): Indirect Hitler comparison. Polish minister attacks Schröder and

Merkel. In: Spiegel Online ( html, accessed October 28, 2016).
8 Sprawozdanie stenograficzne z 33 posiedzenia Sejmu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej. Informacja Prezesa
Rady Ministrów na temat bezpieczeństwa energetycznego Polski w związku z przerwaniem dostarczania
gazu ziemnego z Rosji przez terytorium Ukrainy, 09.01.2009, p. 305.
9 Ministerstwo Gospodarki (2009): Polityka energetyczna Polski do 2030 roku. Warsaw, pp. 4-5.
10 Państwowy Instytut Geologiczny (2012): Ocena zasobów wydobywalnych gazu ziemnego i ropy naftowej
w formacjach łupkowych dolnego paleozoiku w Polsce. Raport Pierwszy. Warsaw, p. 5.
11 Wenerski, Łukasz (2015): Die Energieunion aus polnischer Perspektive. Polen-Analysen 167, p. 2.

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17

Prolog

predecessor ten years ago. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Polish government returned
to proposals, which had already been discussed a decade earlier. 12
Figure 1.1: Polish import dependency on oil and gas (1990–2018)

100
80

98,9

96,5

94

96,6

96,2

98

66,1

60,9

62,7

64,6

65,8

69

2000

2005

2010

2012

2018
(Forecast)

60

40
20
0
1990

Import dependency Oil (%)

Import dependency Gas (%)

Source: author’s illustration, based on numbers in IEA (2014): Energy supply security.
Emergency response of IEA countries. Paris, p. 359.
How intense is the Polish energy dependency? According to the International Energy Agency
(IEA), it is no exaggeration to call Poland import-dependent, especially regarding oil and gas
supplies. As Figure 1.1 shows, almost 100 percent of oil was imported in the last two decades.
Domestic oil production is very small, covering only a few percent of the country’s overall
demand. Concerning the demand for natural gas, around one third is produced domestically.
Additionally, natural gas imports have increased in the past decade, reaching a level comparable to that in the year 1990. However, it is important to keep in mind that Poland still
heavily relies on domestic coal. In 2012, 56 percent of the primary energy demand and 90
percent of electricity production were covered by brown and hard coal. 13 Oil and gas are
important raw materials for the chemical industry and of fundamental importance for the
transport sector. Therefore, substitution is possible only to a certain degree. In general, the
Polish energy mix strongly resembles that of other CEE countries like Bulgaria, the Czech
Republic, or Estonia, with a high share of coal or peat and a significant import dependency
regarding oil and gas. Other CEE countries additionally use further energy sources like
nuclear energy (e.g. Slovakia, Hungary) or hydropower (e.g. Latvia). Nonetheless, a high
12 After parliamentary elections in October 2015, when PiS won a majority of seats, different stakeholders
relaunched proposals on the construction of a gas pipeline from Norway to Poland
( html#, accessed October 28, 2016) as well as an oil pipeline from Ukrainian Brody and
Polish Płock ( html#, accessed October 28, 2016).
13 Grzeszak, Adam (2012): Energie – Herausforderung für Polen. Polen-Analysen 109, p. 5.

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18

Introduction

import dependency regarding oil and gas is a common feature of most of the CEE countries
due to small domestic deposits.
It is the single-source dependency which makes these high levels of oil and gas imports
problematic. In the Polish case, this is true for both oil and gas. However, due to a different
functioning of the oil and gas markets, the debate on energy dependency focuses on natural
gas. Gas is mainly traded on the basis of long-term agreements and tied to a pipeline infrastructure.14 Although diversification has been a primary energy policy goal for years, high
investment costs and long investment periods complicate reorientation. This explains why
the Russian share of Polish gas imports is still high. As Table 1.2 reveals, the Russian share
still accounted for 75.7 percent in 2014, although it has been constantly decreasing since
1990. The lower level of imports from Russia in the mid-2000s was related to a higher share
of central Asian countries like Uzbekistan or Turkmenistan. However, even in this case,
Poland was still dependent on Russia, because central Asian gas reaches Poland via the
Russian pipeline network.
Table 1.2: Polish gas imports from Russia (1990–2014)

total
(in bcm)
Russia
(in bcm)
share of
Russia

(in %)

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

2012

2014

8,266

7,143

8,097

10,463

10,895

12,248

11,819

8,266

7,076

6,564

6,905

9,756

9,774

8,947

100

99.1

81.1

66.0

89.6

79.8

75.7

Source: Eurostat database: Imports-gas-annual data.
/>(accessed September 13, 2016).

1.2 Object of study
The main object of this study are transnational energy infrastructures in the Eastern Bloc as
well as their implications for Poland in the short and long run. The first installment of a crossborder pipeline network connecting production regions in Russia and central Asia with CIS
and CEE countries as well as Western Europe was established in the late 1950s. Especially
in this early stage of transnational cooperation, planned economies were lacking the tools as
well as the experience of how to organize this cooperation and to establish prices for crossborder energy deliveries. These problems were first and foremost related to the restricted
foreign trade possibilities of planned economies. Nevertheless, energy transport infrastruc-

14 However, the increasing share of LNG traded on spot markets and shipped with tankers has the potential
to fundamentally change market conditions in the long run.

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Object of study

19

tures were considerably extended in the following decades in order to supply European countries with Soviet oil and gas. Compared with Czechoslovakia or the GDR, which were more
industrialized and, therefore, in need of energy imports, Poland was not a forerunner regarding the construction of cross-border energy networks in the 1950s and 1960s. Only in the
1970s the country increasingly participated in such endeavors. The emerging energy transport infrastructure also included oil and gas pipelines as well as electricity transmission lines.
In contrast to West European countries, however, storage capacities as well as diversified
import infrastructures were regarded as unnecessary in Eastern Europe. The infrastructural
heritage, consisting of pipelines, compressor stations, and other technical components determines the high Polish oil and gas import dependencies until today. Due to long investment
periods in the energy sector as well as considerable investment costs, this situation is
changing slowly. Therefore, it is necessary to take a closer look at the history of transnational
energy infrastructures to better understand the existing situation in the Polish energy sector.
The term Eastern Bloc denotes the time and space of my research. The Eastern Bloc enveloped countries in Eastern Europe where socialist or communist parties were in power

between the later 1940s and 1989/1991. Since long-term developments are in the focus of
this work, the time frame will be extended to the periods before and after the socialist time
with special regard to the Polish case. The study follows a historical periodization and takes
into account those neighboring socialist countries, with which Poland cooperated the most,
i.e. the Soviet Union, the GDR, and Czechoslovakia.
The subject can be further tightened down to transnational energy infrastructures, constituting a central part of the Eastern European energy sector. According to the historians Erik
van der Vleuten and Arne Kaijser, transnational energy infrastructures are still an underdeveloped field of research, although historians widely acknowledge the fundamental role of
transnational networks. The decisive influence of infrastructures is assumed but still not
analyzed.15 Applying this topic to the time and space described above, the research gap
becomes even more obvious. The historian Vincent Lagendijk points to the fact that the
majority of research on energy infrastructures is conducted from a national perspective and
usually pays attention to the United States (US) and Western Europe.16 The historians Klaus
Gestwa and Stefan Rohdewald shared this opinion and explicitly mentioned energy infrastructures in the Eastern Bloc as desiderata.17
A proper way to approach this research gap is to focus on the institutions responsible for
planning, constructing, and operating cross-border energy networks. Contemporary studies
point to the Council of Mutual Economic Aid 18 (CMEA) as a decisive decision-making body
15 Van der Vleuten, Erik; Kaijser, Arne (2006): Prologue and introduction: transnational networks and the
shaping of contemporary Europe. In: Van der Vleuten, Erik; Kaijser, Arne (eds.): Networking Europe.
Transnational infrastructures and the shaping of Europe. 1850–2000. Sagamore Beach, p. 7.
16 Lagendijk, Vincent (2008): Electrifying Europe. The power of Europe in the construction of electricity
networks. Amsterdam, p. 22. Examples are: Nye, David (1990): Electrifying America: social meanings
of a new technology. 1880-1940. Cambridge. Kaijser, Arne; Hedin, Marika (1995): Nordic energy
systems. Historical perspectives and current issues. Canton. Shamir, Ronen (2013): Current flow. The
electrification of Palestine. Stanford.
17 Gestwa, Klaus; Rohdewald, Stefan (2009): Verflechtungsstudien. Naturwissenschaft und Technik im
Kalten Krieg. In: Osteuropa 59/10, p. 14.
18 Sometimes Council of Mutual Economic Assistance. Especially in Western literature also Comecon.

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20

Introduction

with regard to oil and gas pipelines or electricity transmission lines. 19 The CMEA existed for
more than 40 years and was deeply involved in the energy sector in general as well as transnational energy infrastructures in particular. By focusing on the CMEA, I can avoid some of
the pitfalls of exclusive micro- or macro-approaches concentrating on case studies or the
national level. Especially in the case of transnational infrastructures, this seems to be a
reasonable approach.20

1.3 Literature overview
Next to the Warsaw Pact, the CMEA was the most important international organization of
Eastern Bloc countries and an important planning body in the energy sector.21 Founded in
1949 and dissolved in 1991, the CMEA reflected the political and economic ups and downs
in the Eastern Bloc. The administrative structure included the Executive Committee, the
Secretariat, Standing Commissions as well as CMEA sessions regularly held in East
European capitals. Additionally, meetings of first secretaries or heads of government of
CMEA member countries taking place immediately before CMEA sessions had a decisive
influence on decision-making.
Due to the CMEA’s long existence, considerable size, and significant impact, the corresponding literature is immense. Plans by Nikita Khrushchëv, First Secretary of the Communist
Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), to transform the CMEA into a supranational planning
authority, significantly piqued the interest of Western researchers. Especially the Sino-Soviet
split and the successful Romanian blockade of Khrushchëv‘s plans attracted closer
attention.22 Valuable monographies written by East European authors appeared with regard
to the 25th anniversary of the CMEA in 1974. Moreover, the CMEA Bulletin had been
published by the CMEA secretariat since 1975. Although these works are politically biased
and often mask decisive debates, they provide a detailed overview. 23 Intensified integration
efforts of CMEA countries and the rapprochement between East and West invited further

19 Ruban, Rostyslav (2013): The European natural gas supply, under particular consideration of gas transit.
Dissertation. Berlin, pp. 119-120. Newnham, Randall (2011): Oil, carrots, and sticks: Russia’s energy
resources as a foreign policy tool. In: Journal of Eurasian Studies 2/2, p. 135. Balmaceda, Margarita
(2002): EU energy policy and future European energy markets: consequences for the central and east
European states. Mannheim, p. 4.
20 For a detailed elaboration, see the methods section.
21 Full members included Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, the Soviet Union, Albania
(active participation until 1961), the GDR (since 1950), Mongolia (since 1962), Cuba (since 1972), and
Vietnam (since 1978).
22 Hoffmann, Emil (1961): COMECON. Der gemeinsame Markt in Osteuropa. Opladen. Uschakow,
Alexander (1962): Der Rat für gegenseitige Wirtschaftshilfe. (Comecon). Cologne. Kaser, Michael
(1967): Comecon. Integration problems of the planned economies. Oxford.
23 Boroch, N. et al. (1975): RGW. Bilanz u. Perspektiven. Berlin. Faddejew, N. (1975): Der Rat für
Gegenseitige Wirtschaftshilfe. Berlin. Hegemann, Margot (1980): Kurze Geschichte des RGW. Berlin.
Ėkonomicheskoe Sotrudnichestvo Stran-Chlenov SĖV. Informat͡sionnyĭ Bi͡ulleten’ (1975-1991).
Moscow.

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