News

Warsaw, September 26th 2012 - Today, we have launched a new website aimed to educate the public about shale gas exploration and production - lupkipolskie.pl. The website was conceived and commissioned by PGNiG SA. It is part of an awareness campaign whose chief objective is to educate and inform the public about shale gas and provide reliable information on all the related issues.

In addition to the most important news and basic facts about shale gas, as well as shale gas exploration and extraction techniques, the site contains information on the environmental, legal and economic aspects of its exploitation. In future, it will also feature a database of available reports and publications concerning shale gas, as well as comments by experts and scientists. We expect publications and reports prepared by PGNiG, based on the findings of its exploration work, to figure prominently in the database. They will relate mainly to practical, rather than theoretical, research and analyses of the impact of exploration work on the natural and social environment.

"PGNiG SA boasts a track record of several decades of exploring for and producing hydrocarbons in Poland. Over that time, we have drilled more than 20 thousand exploration wells. I would like to emphasise that the work has never caused any environmental hazards. Now, we are getting involved in the exploration for shale gas. No other operator holds as many exploration licences for Polish shale gas plays as we do. So, we feel it our duty to educate and inform the public about shale gas," said Szymon Dobrzyński, Head of the Marketing and Communications Department of PGNiG SA.

As part of the website promotion campaign run mainly over the Internet, we are planning activities to be undertaken in the key social networking media. Since July 2012, PGNiG has run an information and education programme dedicated to local communities residing in areas where exploration is already under way or is planned to be launched. So far, we have delivered a road show of 26 meetings (a total of 168 hours) in municipalities covered by our licences, as well as workshops for representatives of the local press and local government, study tours of the well surface installations in Lubocino for local government officials and residents, and a series of advertorials run in nationwide and local media.

The formula of the website is such that the project may be joined by other partners. Its initiators are also working on a campaign aimed to inform the public about everything that is going on at the European Commission and Parliament in relation to unconventional gas.

"We know what prospective benefits the Polish economy, Polish people and our Company stand to gain from shale gas. We also realise that plans of its industrial production are provoking organised resistance, which affects sentiments, especially among local communities. However, our education efforts to date prove that transparency and solid information are an effective means to dispel the myths surrounding shale gas," added Szymon Dobrzyński.

Joanna Zakrzewska

PGNiG SA Press Officer