- In Poland, it has been almost forgotten that the Podkarpacie region is one of the fatherlands of Polish mining. The traditions of oil and gas mining were born here," said the Speaker of the Sejm during Barbórka celebrations in Przemyśl.
He stressed that one of the most important strategic goals of Poland is to ensure security, including energy security - to the state, enterprises and households. This goal is realized thanks to such companies as PGNiG. - You work in the company which is of strategic importance for Poland and for all of us. Today it is difficult to imagine everyday life in the conditions of energy crisis and natural gas is one of the important energy carriers - said Marek Kuchciński.
In the middle of the 19th century in Bóbrka in Podkarpacie region Ignacy Łukasiewicz began to extract oil from the Franek well. It is the oldest oil mine in the world. - We have knowledge from almost 200 years ago. The traditions of oil and gas mining date back to our area between Gorlice and Borysław". - Marshal Kuchciński reminded.
In a year's time we will celebrate the 60th anniversary of gas exploitation from the "Przemyśl" deposit. It is the largest natural gas deposit discovered in Poland so far. Thanks to the application of state-of-the-art technologies, intensification of seismic works and, consequently, also drilling works, it is possible to increase the resource potential of the deposit by 1/3.
Due to its very high importance in both economic and security terms, the PIS government decided to separate the energy department. With the creation of the Ministry, activities in this sector have been intensified. The Ministry of Development is also looking for natural gas deposits in the Carpathian Mountains and unconventional formations of the Carpathian Foreland.
Actions taken to ensure energy security for Poland
Gas (annual gas consumption in Poland in 2016: approximately 16 bcm)
- Baltic Pipe project (10 bcm) - gas pipeline connection between Poland and the Norwegian Continental Shelf via the Danish transmission system, planned completion date: 1 October 2022.
- Expansion of the LNG Terminal in Świnoujście - possibility to supply gas from any direction (currently Qatar, USA), increasing the throughput to 7.5 billion m3/year (currently 5 billion m3/year), planned deadline for completion of the investment: Q3 2020.
- Expansion of the gas transmission network in the country - the possibility of transporting Norwegian gas and gas from the LNG Terminal in Świnoujście from the northwest coast to Przemyśl.
- Construction of gas interconnectors with Lithuania, Ukraine, Slovakia and the Czech Republic - currently design work is underway aimed at obtaining the required administrative permits, including the construction permit.
Electricity
- Construction of new power units, modernization of existing units.
- Work to introduce a Power Market mechanism to ensure the viability of existing and newly built power plants.
- Expansion of extra-high voltage power grids - increasing the ability to transmit electricity in larger volumes over longer distances, power output from newly built units.
Crude oil
- Expansion of the Oil Terminal in Gdańsk.
- Expansion of storage space.
- Commissioning of the third line of the "Friendship" pipeline.
Photo by Marta Olejnik
