Pulling Out of Poland
ExxonMobil and Talisman Energy are reportedly both in negotiations to sell their shale gas operations in Poland.
Rzeczpospolita featured a page one story entitled: Global Players Give Up Shales.
The Polish daily, citing unnamed sources, wrote that Polish oil refiner PKN Orlen was in “advanced talks” with ExxonMobil and Talisman to acquire their concessions in Poland.
The upstream branch of the PKN, Orlen Upstream, has eight exploratory concessions in Poland and last week its parent company announced plans to significantly increase spending on shale gas exploration.
Natural Gas Europe learned from an anonymous source at one of the companies that events were developing and that the situation would be clarified in coming days.
Reports also indicate that the government of Poland plans to reveal detailed content of the new draft hydrocarbon bill, outlined in October.
Discontent with government proposals is cited as a principal reason for the rumoured departure of Canadian based Talisman, which first surfaced in November..
On November 13th, OPPPW, the shale gas industry organization in Poland, criticized government proposals, publishing a letter called Government Framework for Legislation Reform Raises Serious Concerns.
The new hydrocarbon law finally revealed by the government in mid-October plans to raise overall levels of taxation for oil and gas to up to 40% and to establish a mining and hydrocarbon regulator, NOKE (Narodowy Operator Kopalin Energetycznych), which is to oversee the companies.
“Proposed changes to the fiscal regime lack of clarity on various regulations including the role of state owned NOKE as partner and regulator at the same time and conditions of the concession granting process raises serious concern from industry” – warned OPPPW in its letter.
Last June ExxonMobil confirmed rumors which had been circulating for several months, announcing its retreat from Poland.
The news broke on June 16, just three days after the government called off a conference which was to unveil a framework of the regulation and taxation of hydrocarbons.
ExxonMobil explained its decision to drop operations in Poland as the result of disappointing results of two exploratory drills.
The American heavyweight returned three out of its six concessions to the Environment Ministry.
Talisman, who is said to consider following Exxon’s footsteps, has completed three wells in Lewino, Rogity and Szymkowo in the Baltic Basin.
Talisman is partnered with San Leon PLC on the three concessions.
San Leon has announced that the exploration program on the sites have been successful to date and that further tests, including fracking operations in all of these wells plus a horizontal well, were planned for 2013.