Polskie Górnictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo SA (PGNiG) opened Poland’s largest oil and gas production facility – Lubiatów

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9-8-2013 — /EuropaWire/ — On July 29th 2013, Polskie Górnictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo SA officially opened the Lubiatów oil and gas production facility. Construction of this facility has been the largest investment project in Poland’s petroleum production industry in recent years. The opening ceremony of the facility, perceived as being of outstanding importance to both PGNiG and Poland’s economy in general, was attended by Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Poland’s State Treasury Minister Włodzimierz Karpiński.

Operation of the Lubiatów oil and gas production facility will allow PGNiG to increase Poland’s domestic production of crude oil and condensate from the current level of about 500,000 tonnes to about 800,000 tonnes annually. The natural gas produced in association with the oil extracted from the field (in quantities of about 100 million cubic metres annually) will feed the Gorzów Wielkopolski CHP plant, as well as the CHP plant supplying electricity and heat for the Lubiatów facility’s own needs.

“Gas and oil are flowing to the surface and becoming the distinguishing feature of this part of Poland. Of course, these three fields (Lubiatów-Międzychód-Grotów) will not allow us to become fully independent in meeting our energy needs, but facilities as modern as the Lubiatów oil and gas production facility, one of the most advanced plants of its type in Europe, are certainly a very important addition to our energy mix. This includes imported, but also – and increasingly often – our own, domestically-produced energy commodities. I would gladly see this facility, which has already been operating for some time and whose official opening we are celebrating today, become a symbol of our growing strength as far as energy independence is concerned. Poland is becoming an ambitious and brave country, which is partly attributable to the fact that our energy independence is becoming reality,” said Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

“We have been building modern facilities in spite of the serious problems that Europe and the whole world are now facing. There is no better cure for crisis and despair than examples such as Lubiatów, showing that we can build and overcome pessimism and people’s lack of faith,” the Prime Minister added. He also expressed his hope that the volumes of oil and gas produced in Poland will grow. “We will continue to explore for hydrocarbons and to produce oil and gas in our country in every location where such production is economically viable,” Mr Tusk declared.

“Today we have shown that Poland’s engineering and construction know-how and ideas, as well as our work organisation skills, bring solid effects. One of their dimensions is implementation of Poland’s policy to achieve energy independence. Through investment projects such as this one, our country’s economy is becoming a safe harbour in the crisis storm raging across Europe. In this way, we also demonstrate that we can organise ourselves most efficiently. Let this project be another piece of evidence that if we want to – we can,” said Treasury Minister Włodzimierz Karpiński.

“The launch of production at the Lubiatów facility will strengthen PGNiG’s leading position in the Polish upstream sector, and the significant growth in crude oil production will have a positive effect on the Company’s financial performance. This is good news for the shareholders,” pointed out Jerzy Kurella, acting President of the Management Board of PGNiG SA.

The development of the Lubiatów, Międzychów and Grotów (LMG) fields is an important step towards expanding PGNiG SA’s oil and gas production and enhancing national energy security. The LMG fields are among the largest in Poland. Their recoverable reserves amount to around 7.25 million tonnes of crude oil and approximately 7.3 billion cubic metres of natural gas.

The ‘LMG Project’ involves development of the fields to produce natural gas and crude oil from 14 wells. As part of the project, wells were completed into oil and gas reservoirs, and associated infrastructure was built, including ancillary systems, a pipeline system connecting the wells to the LMG Central Control Station, and a pipeline system linking the facility to the Wierzbno terminal.

The crude oil and natural gas facility in Lubiatów is one of the most advanced projects of this type in Europe. Many of the technologies and control systems at the facility far exceed the current environmental requirements for such equipment. These include a high-efficiency gas desulphurisation system, an automated transmission pipeline leak detection system, an air monitoring system, and an enclosed combustion chamber flare system.

The facility and the wells are located within the borders of two administrative areas – the Drezdenko municipality (Province of Zielona Góra) and the Międzychód municipality (Province of Poznań). For both local governments, the launch of PGNiG’s project means a significant inflow of proceeds from taxes and royalty fees to the local budgets. Furthermore, its implementation created around 100 new jobs.

The value of the project is PLN 1.7bn (VAT inclusive). It was executed by a consortium of PBG SA, Tecnimont KT S.p.a., and Thermodesign Engineering Ltd.

Joanna Zakrzewska

Press Officer

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