News
05.02.2010 PGNiG Norway AS awarded operator status on the Norwegian Continental Shelf
The Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy awarded an operator status on the Norwegian Continental Shelf to PGNiG Norway AS. The decision of the Norwegian Ministry will allow PGNiG Norway to assume a leading role in projects pertaining to the exploration and development of offshore oil and gas deposits. The operator status confirms that the experience and resources of the PGNiG Group conform to the highest international standards of the oil industry.
The Norwegian government awards the operator status to oil companies on the basis of a detailed analysis of competences in the field of exploration and mining works. To obtain such status, it is absolutely necessary to establish an appropriate organisation in Norway.
Awarding the operator status was the last step of the "pre-qualification" process. This process was conducted in accordance with a strictly defined procedure during which the competences of PGNiG Norway were positively verified. It covered, inter alia, an audit performed by the representatives of Norwegian authorities responsible for supervising the oil industry. The audit conducted in the Norwegian office of PGNiG Norway and the registered office of the PGNiG Group companies in Poland was carried out by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate and the Petroleum Safety Authority Norway. The level of factual knowledge and the health and safety conditions of both PGNiG Norway and the Branch in Sanok as well as PGNiG Kraków and Geofizyka Kraków were very highly evaluated by the representatives of Norwegian authorities.
Obtaining an operator status constitutes an important stage of implementing PGNiG Norway's long-term development strategy and confirms that the Company plays an important role among the major international oil companies operating in the Norwegian Continental Shelf region.
PGNiG Norway's portfolio consists of eight licences on the NCS, including five on which it is conducting exploration works. In 2010 PGNiG Norway will spend approximately PLN 500 million on all investment projects.
The operations of PGNiG SA on the Norwegian Continental Shelf begun in 2007 with the purchase of three exploration licences: Snad, Skarv and Idun. As a result, PGNiG Norway was established.
Operations on the NCS are closely connected with the plans to increase oil and natural gas extraction. The commencement of natural gas extraction in Norway is planned for the second half of 2011. If the assumed target is achieved, after 2015 at least 1.5 billion cubic metres of annual gas production will come from "equity gas" reserves on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
Joanna Zakrzewska
Spokesperson for PGNiG SA
