American newcomer to enter Polish natural gas market

PGNiG announced on Tuesday that it had signed a contract with US-based Palomar, according to a report in Rzeczpospolita. The agreement, which stipulates that Palomar will provide 50 million cubic liters of gas, annually, to the Polish state energy company, marks the first instance in Poland of a large-scale gas extraction project by a privately-owned company. The agreement indicates that Poland is serious about increasing domestic extraction of natural gas, according to some industry representatives. “We see great potential in the area of ​​oil production on Polish territory,” said Maciej Wozniak, vice president of commercial operations for PGNiG. The operation, which is located near Rawicz, in the Wielkopolska voivodship, could eventually increase its production capacity three-fold, according to sources close to the deal. Palomar began its operations in Poland in 2014, and production of gas from the Rawicz deposit is expected to begin late in 2017, the report indicated.