Poland to Test CBM; Restructures Distribution
Polish state-run company Polskie Gornictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo (PGNiG) and the Polish Geological Institute − National Research Institute (PIG-PIB) have set up a consortium to research gas production from coal deposits. If all goes well, there will be a new revenue stream and better safety for the mining sector and lower emissions of CO2.
Their test project at two boreholes in Gilowice, Upper Silesia, will use hydraulic fracturing to see if it raises output. They will also test modern techniques and methods of methane stimulation. For PGNiG, it will be the first attempt to produce methane from coalbeds, although it has tried and failed to make shale gas production commercial. Work is due to start in the autumn.
PGNiG CEO Piotr Wozniak (below) said the amount of gas captured at mines has been falling. “This means that we are losing a valuable source of energy,” he said at a meeting with scientists and mining companies at PIG-PIB’s Upper Silesia Branch in Sosnowiec.
The head of PIG-PIB’s Upper Silesia Branch Janusz Jureczka said as well as improving safety, ”the project may also lay the foundations for commercial methane extraction in decommissioned collieries.”
As the operator, PGNiG will draw on its experience in simulation through hydraulic fracturing, which it has performed as part of shale gas exploration projects.
New Strategy for distribution business PSG
The board of PGNiG has approved a new strategy for Polska Spolka Gazownictwa for 2016–2022, with effect from July 1. Once the new strategy is implemented, PSG will become the National Gas Distribution System Operator within the PGNiG Group.
PSG and trade unions signed on June 17 a memorandum of understanding that creates a new organisational structure, strategy and incentive system. Among the intentions are more efficiency through simpler procedures and decision-making.
It will not only help save 1,300 jobs, but will also facilitate pay rises and provide a more attractive set of employee benefits. It is the first time in the history of the Polish gas industry that strategic decisions concerning a company’s future have been prepared and made jointly by employees and the management board, PGNiG said.
The new strategy assumes that the company will increase the volume of distributed gas, the number of new connections will rise, and the gas network will be steadily rolled out across the country.
It aims to distribute a total 79.06bn m³ over the period and earn zloty 15.98bn. By the end of the period the network coverage will be 60.79%. At time of press it did not comment on the existing percentage covered nor what the current gas sales are.
Changes will also be made in the company’s organisational structure, to reflect the administrative division of Poland and thus facilitate cooperation with local governments and provide customers with easier access to services. Further, the changes will improve management efficiency and security of supplies.
One of the goals of the changes is to extend service to unserved regions on Poland’s gas distribution map. Of the total of 2,479 communes and municipalities in the country, only 1,434 are connected to the gas network. Northern Poland and the uplands in the south have relatively low penetration. By 2022, PSG intends to roll out its gas network into 74 municipalities and connect some 350,000 new customers.
The new structure will be more transparent and customer friendly. At present, connection decisions are made at the level of branches and gas distribution companies. After the change, such decisions will be made at local gas utilities.
William Powell