PGNiG SA is the only Polish company holding licences for oil and gas exploration in Pakistan, while PNiG drilled 500,000 meters in the country. Apart from the works commissioned by PGNiG, PNiG Krakow worked as a contractor for the world’s largest companies, including: ENI, OMV, BP, British Gas, Lasmo and Occidental.

 

The PGNiG and PNiG delegation met with representatives of international companies operating in Pakistan, such as: BP, MOL, ENI, Mari Gaz and the Pakistani OEDCL, who are all appreciative of the competence and experience of the Polish companies, and are interested in further co-operation with the Polish business. President G?ogowski talked to the representatives of Pakistani business community interested not only on the exploration licences, but also in the broadly defined energy sector. The talks dealt with, among other things, PGNiG’s field acquisition strategies in other parts of the world.

 

At the press conference in Karachi, when enquired about PGNiG’s plans in Pakistan, Krzysztof G?ogowski confirmed the company’s intention to be an active player in this market: “The excellent Pakistani infrastructure, proximity of the trunk pipeline, easily accessible transmission capacity, well developed sales market for gas and, above all, stable and investor-friendly petroleum law, are the main reasons for PGNiG’s hydrocarbon exploration in Pakistan”.

Maciej Za?ubka, Vice-President for Production and Marketing of PNiG Krakow emphasized the significant role of the Pakistani market for Polish companies in respect of resources and cooperation opportunities in the area of power generation. The company is planning to increase the number of drilling rigs operated in this market.

 

Krzysztof G?ogowski, accompanied the president of PNiG Krakow, Jaros?aw Ba?asz, decorated the team of 12 Polish and Pakistani crew members of the oldest Polish drilling rig operated in Pakistan.
Meetings with the representative of the Pakistani Government and investors are planned for 15th and 16th June.
 

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In mid 90s, PGNiG made a decision to attempt an introduction of its services into foreign markets. The reasons behind such course of action were: the fact that PGNiG was in possession of top class exploration equipment and that the employment market in Poland was shrinking at the time. The PGNiG Management adopted a policy of allocating 5-10% of the yearly exploration expenditure to foreign operations.
In November 1997, PGNiG SA established an Operating Branch with its seat in Islamabad. The Operating Branch was established under Pakistani Law, which required the parent company to open up its representative office in the country.

In the period running from July 1997 to 2003, PGNiG SA carried out, as the operator, exploration on four concession blocks: Khanpur West, Sabzal, Mekhtar and Sabzal – South.

 

Currently, PGNiG is carrying out exploration on the Kirthar concession block located in the Sindh province, approximately 500 km from Karachi. The concession agreement for this block was signed for three years on 18 May 2005. PGNiG is the operator of the Kirthar block with 70% interest, while the remaining 30% held by Pakistan Petroleum Ltd. This year, the completion of the field work is expected, based on which the drilling programme will be prepared. The initial findings suggest that there might be a possibility of documenting hydrocarbon-saturated structures. The location of a drilling well is planned on one of them. In case of positive results of the economic analysis to be carried out prior to the final decision on drilling, the preparation for well drilling will begin already this year. The current tests on the Kirthar concession are likely to confirm the discovery of a gas deposit and, at the same time, offer the opportunity for fulfilment of the company’s past drilling commitment.

 

In the last decade, PGNiG carried out exploration on the total area of 13,000 km2, with a substantial amount of geological and geophysical surveys and approximately 1,000 kilometres of new 2D seismics. The geological and geophysical surveys carried out in the concession areas based on existing data and new exploration efforts enabled the verification of the geological structures of these areas and understanding of the hydrocarbon accumulation conditions.

Development of activity of PGNiG’s subsidiaries

 

The year 1997 marked the turning point for the expansion of PGNiG into the Pakistani market. It was then that the concession blocks for oil and gas exploration were acquired. In the same year 1997, PNiG Krakow, a member company of the PGNiG Group, was awarded its first contract for drilling for oil and gas. The Krakow based drillers marked their presence on the Pakistani market with cooperation with the international operator Occidental.

The development of cooperation with international operators meant that more and more employees and equipment had to be imported into Pakistan. Later on, the Polish drillers were joined by the Polish geophysicists. Another subsidiary company, Geofizyka Kraków, similarly to PNiG Krakow, managed to develop extensive business relationships in the Pakistani market.

The PGNiG and PNiG Krakow brands gained increasing recognition and have come to signify reliability, professional attitude and high qualifications of the companies’ staff. Thanks to the introduction of drilling and geophysics companies into the Pakistani market, the share of export contracts carried out by those companies, mainly for foreign operators, has grown significantly.