“Natural gas is set to be a key energy source bridging Poland’s energy transition. Its use as a fuel will help reduce carbon emissions, while enhancing the flexibility of power generation,” Przemysław Wacławski, PGNiG’s Vice President of the Management Board for Finance, said during the Congress. “However, the ongoing energy crisis shows that we really need to speed up the shift towards new, innovative energy sources,” he added.

The regulatory challenges posed by the Paris Agreement and the European Green Deal make it necessary for energy utilities, such as the PGNiG Group, to step up investments in low-carbon projects and technologies. In the case of PGNiG, the combination of its expertise, experience and infrastructure is conducive to initiatives focused on distribution and storage of low-carbon gases, such as hydrogen and biomethane.

“The ambition of our Group is to drive forward Poland’s biomethane market . Its growth is expected to contribute to a reduction in harmful emissions, but also to an improvement in energy security and stabilisation of the domestic agricultural sector,” said Przemysław Wacławski.

In the case of hydrogen, PGNiG focuses on projects involving the fuel’s transmission through existing gas networks and storage in underground salt caverns, which currently hold natural gas.

“Having the gas distribution network and storage system operators within our Group, we can see that PGNiG enjoys some major competitive advantages in this area,” the Vice President pointed out.

During the Congress, Przemysław Wacławski also broached the subject of record-high gas prices on the European market. He pointed out that one of the main reasons behind the soaring prices are the historically low gas storage levels across Europe and continued strong demand, which significantly exceeds supply, the latter being limited especially by the dominant Russian supplier of gas to the European market.

The 23rd edition of the World Petroleum Congress was held between December 5th and December 9th 2021 in Houston, USA.