Polish PGNiG says to bid for gas deposits in Libya

06-08-2007

PGNiG, Poland's natural-gas firm, plans to bid for gas deposits in Libya as part of its strategy to reduce the country's dependence on imports from Russia, the company said.

'We are preparing for a tender in Libya,' PGNiG spokesman Tomasz Fill said. 'It is an element of creating value by looking for new gas resources.'

State-controlled PGNiG has been tasked with reducing Poland's dependence on foreign gas supplies, also as part of its own attempts to improve its bargaining position for supplies.

Around two thirds of Poland's annual gas consumption of 14.6 bln cubic meters come from Russia, which has turned off the taps during price talks with both Belarus and Ukraine in recent years.

PGNiG, which is 85-percent government-owned, said earlier this year it would buy licences to explore gas deposits off the coast of Norway. It is also planning to build a pipeline to Denmark, which could start pumping gas in 2012.

PGNiG is also investing in a new liquified natural gas (LNG) terminal in the Baltic city port of Swinoujscie, which is expected to come on stream in 2011 and receive 2.5 bln cubic meters of gas per year.