What are the plans of Orlen in term of oil and gas prospecting in Ukraine?
We have been interested in Ukraine for quite some time. That is why, along with Ukrainian companies, we have decided to try to find projects which would contribute to develop our competences. Following some general agreements with the Ministry of Environment, we are going to start direct talks with state-owned companies on the selection of locations of our common investments. In the next weeks our technical team is going to examine specific projects on-site.
The next two or three years will show whether this area is worth a large-scale investment. Presently, we are in for to start one strictly prospective project and another, more advanced one which to some extent has been already examined, i.e. after first boreholing works. We do not exclude a possibility of our involvement in the development of a project under implementation. However, it will depend on the offer of Ukrainian partners. We are also interested in projects in which we could act as an operator.
Do you take into consideration only state-owned companies?
We have also analysed and discussed projects in the Ukrainian private market. For various reasons they could not be undertaken and thus we have decided that the best solution would be to cooperate with state-owned companies.
We see a great willingness for cooperation and openness to investors from the side of the Ukrainian government. We have been repeatedly assured that renowned companies are welcome. The Ukrainian market which needs more investments offers also a chance for our development.
Ukraine is also searching for investors who are ready to explore deposits in the Black Sea...
We do not take into account such investments as they are very difficult projects which require significantly higher financial expenditures. We would prefer to focus on rather less risky directions such as Western Ukraine or Poltava. We have better knowledge in terms of geological structure of these regions due to similarities with our prospective areas.
What are the forecast amounts of Ukrainian projects?
Everything will depend on specific projects which we will select with our Ukrainian partners shortly. Currently, it is too soon to talk about numbers. The decision of capital involvement will be followed by a phase of detailed analyses and reports elaborated by our experts.
Source: wnp.pl (Marcin Szczepański) - 22-12-2010