Gas: growing demand vs limited deliveries

While the weather-predicting groundhog Phil becoming a celebrity in the US, cold weather remains no-laughing matter for the European gas industry.

Temperature in Poland has been as low as minus 30 Celsius, which means a soaring demand for gas for heating and other industrial purposes. At the same time, Russian GAZPROM might be lowering its gas deliveries to the EU by some 10 percent, due to the deep freeze embracing many regions of Poland's eastern neighbors.

Are we facing a serious gas shortage and what does it mean for the Polish economy? Slawek Szefs reports.

Groundhog Club handler Ron Ploucha holds Phil, the weather prognosticating groundhog, as he poses for photographers during the annual Groundhog Day celebration. The groundhog saw his shadow, apparently forecasting six more weeks of winter. Photo: PAP/EPA/DAVID MAXWELL

Cover: Exhaust fumes from a Ukrainian heating plant rises in the air over Kiev, Ukraine. With severe cold in Russia, European downstream nations are receiving less Russian natural gas. Photo: PAP/EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO