PGNiG Spuds its Third Well in Poland
Polish gas firm PGNiG SA has announced the commencement of drilling of its third well in search of shale gas in Lubycza Krolewska. The well is situated on the Tomaszow Lubelski concession, in the Lubelskie region.
According to the company, drilling will take over three months and well depth will reach 4.300 mts. The company plans to extract up to 900 mts of cores. Complete analysis of the samples will take another several months.
PGNiG has announced a strategy focused on the development of conventional and unconventional deposits in Poland, enabling a significant increase in gas production natural gas and crude oil over the next few years.
"This is an important moment for PGNiG SA. Our number one goal is fastest actual verification of unconventional gas resources in Poland, said Grazyna Piotrowska-Oliwa, the President Management Board of PGNiG SA.
Within the framework of its shale gas exploration program, PGNiG has already carried out two wells.
The most recent well, Lubocino-1 on Wejherowo concession in Pomerania, showed positive results. PGNiG has announced plans to spend over 200 mln zlotys in the years 2012 and 2013, and start a production at Lubocino-1 in 2014.
The first shale gas well in Markowola, on the Pionki-Kazimierz concession, also in Lubelskie, was abandoned after results proved to be unsatisfactory. The Tomaszow Lubelski concession is located 200 kms away. on the opposite, southeastern border of the region.
Last year the company announced it would rather concentrate on its Baltic concessions where depth ranges are shallower and costs lower.
State controlled PGNiG has 15 exploratory concessions in the country. It plans to carry out five more gas exploration drillings in 2012.
PGNiG also stated that the further developments can be financed independently or jointly with other state-owned energy and mining companies with which it signed letters of intent for shale gas development. The company said that details of cooperation between PGNiG, copper miner KGHM Polska Miedz SA and power firms PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna SA and Tauron Polska Energia SA, would be made public in April.
Last week, the treasury minister Mikolaj Budzanowski reiterated that shale gas production should start in Poland, which is deeply dependent on Russian gas, no later than early 2015.