OPPPW: United We Stand
Building an industry from scratch is not an easy task, especially when it involves industrial operations that can affect the lives of people who have never had to deal with a towering drilling derrick in their backyard, or the noise of more than a few semi trucks rumbling in and out of their small community.
Such is the case in Poland, where members of the burgeoning shale gas industry must engage with the communities affected by exploration operations in the country’s shale basins.
To do just that, many of the major E&Ps in Poland have banded together to form an organization pledged to represent their interests and engage the public with a single voice, OPPPW, The Polish Exploration and Production Industry Organization.
President of the Management Board at Orlen Upstream, one of Poland’s major hydrocarbons players, Wieslaw Prugar is also President of the Management Board at OPPPW.
In simple terms, he explained the rational behind having such an organization representing E&Ps in their pursuit of shale gas in Poland: “If it’s just Orlen, people say ‘you want to do something, but what’s the truth?’”
The organization, he said, made things clearer and tried to be clear in its objectives.
Engaging Local Communities was the title of Mr. Prugar’s presentation at the European Unconventional Gas Summit in Krakow, Poland.
“Our organization was created because companies felt that this was the right way to challenge the future. The E&P business is over 160 years old in Poland , but the level of activities is different. We produce one fourth of our own domestic gas production, but mainly there’s only one company working in E&P.
He said it was only majority state-owned PGNiG on the market just a few years ago.
“In June we managed to found this organization,” he recalled of PPPW. “I think it was a great idea and presently we have 20 members and observers, with applications pending. I hope that this organization will grow as activity increases in Poland.”
Mr. Prugar said that he had seen a TV program in Poland which was a discussion about how shale gas activity would influence local communities and the environment. “One of our members was filmed at a meeting with local authorities and community,” he reported. “From what I’ve seen it went well.”
He said that was one of the purposes for which the organization was created, and that engaging local communities was absolutely essential.
The program was generally positive, he said, but that it was crucial to understand how communication and conveying the right messages was important for our future of the shale gas industry in Poland.
His main messages, Mr. Prugar explained, were environment, and the consequences of shale operations.
“We’d like to be involved in the Polish regulatory regime,” he said of PPPW. “The level of activity and focus on conventionals did not create a regulatory environment for developing fluently unconventional production in the future.
“We need skilled and trained labor for performing our operations,” he continued. “Technology is also something our organization would like for companies to bring all the best practices.”
He explained that the organization had created four subcommittees: environment, laws and regulations, PR and government relations, and a technical sub committee.
Members of the management board, Mr. Prugar showed, included Orlen, ExxonMobil, Lane Energy, and BNK Polska.
In terms of how those companies operated, he said that what they did was not common knowledge. “We’re working together jointly to present joint views for the authorities and communities, so that we can perform our jobs.”
“Shale gas has gone to the top of the political agenda in Europe,” explained Prugar. “There’s a big debate in Poland as to how the activity will influence our lives.”
Of Orlen Upstream’s shale gas exploration activities, he said: “We are very well received in generally, and receive positive opinions. The only problem is that the populace don’t understand what we do, so it’s important to go in early enough to speak with them and at the right level.
He explained that in 2006 PKN Orlen decided to go into the upstream business, which he called a great decision considering the unconventionals projects in Poland; and offshore projects in Latvia. He added that Orlen Upstream had plans to announce something in November.
“We hear some problems and objections to our activities, so the goal of the organization is to be able to participate in those discussions,” he said of OPPPW.
In terms of CSR, he emphasized the importance of dialogue with local communities, understanding them and addressing their concerns.
“The more info people get about fracking,” he explained, “the less scared they become and more open for us - if you put things in the right perspective and show what the industry can bring to communities - and if you give them numbers about water operations: how many cubic meters the city of Lublin uses per day, compared to what we need which is nothing.”
He said, “They think at the end of the story they will end up with no water.”
Being responsible right from the beginning, said Prugar, was the key to E&Ps’ future success in Poland.
He said OPPPW was very young, and had to compromise and reach agreement. “So far we’ve managed to compromise on the most important things and in 2012 we hope there will be an acceleration of our activities, that will be more involved on national and local levels. We try to be active where all our members have activity, speaking in the same voice and supporting particular companies sometimes.”
He stressed the importance of talking to people about how many hectares an E&P would need in the future, and that showing people what was really done at a well site was also key.
“The American experience over 20 plus years makes this simpler and creates less harm, less of a footprint on the environment. When they see we use sophisticated technologies from one well pad instead of 10 locations, they’ll understand that when we abandon the well 20-30 years later nothing will be seen.”
Noise did exist, according to Prugar. “We use the same trucks as every industry, have the same standards. It’s all temporary, and later they disappear.”
“It’s been shown that it can be properly done with care for the environment,” he said of shale gas production, but said that people had a strange idea about the amount of waste produced.
“Put things into the right perspective and views can change,” he recommended.
“People are starting to understand that shale gas may bring opportunities to their neighborhood,” Prugar continued, speaking of Poland. “If the boom starts, the communities will benefit from that activity. It will create a local market for additional services needed.”
“Each company has its own aims,” he concluded of the OPPPW, “but we try to compromise on things which are most important, to pass on the right message to the public.”
by Drew Leiheit