Page 11 - EurOil Week 07 2022

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Black Sea Oil and Gas Zsolt Hernadi and PKN Orlen chairman Bulgaria freezes sale of
Daniel Obajtek, said Viktor Orban’s press
confirms start of offshore spokesperson Bertalan Havasi. gas from Chiren storage to
The talks also touched on a recently
production in Romania in Q2 announced deal between the companies that prepare for escalation of
will give MOL 417 petrol stations in Poland
Black Sea Oil and Gas (BSOG), the vehicle and PKN Orlen 185 petrol stations in Russia-Ukraine conflict
controlled by the US fund Carlyle, has Hungary and Slovakia. When the transaction
expressed confidence that it will stick to its is closed, MOL will become the third-biggest Bulgaria decided to temporarily stop the
plans and start natural gas production at its player on Poland’s retail vehicle fuel market, sale of natural gas from its Chiren storage
offshore platform located in Romania’s Black while PKN Orlen will be the fourth-biggest as part of the measures it is taking to
Sea territory, Ziarul Financiar daily reported. in Hungary with a 7% share of the retail prepare in case of an escalation of the
The statement came at a moment when market. Russia-Ukraine conflict, Prime Minister
the Romanian authorities are expected PKN Orlen already controls 5% of the Kiril Petkov told reporters as quoted by
to revise the Offshore Law in line with Hungarian wholesale market. Mediapool news outlet.
investors’ expectations. Orban said the Hungarian government The country imports almost all its
OMV Petrom’s management recently hails MOL’s acquisition in Poland and natural gas from Russia and could have
expressed disappointment with the delay and welcomes Polish investors in Hungary. The issues with supplies in case of war or
said that the investment decision in their deal will give impetus to the traditionally sanctions. To prevent an energy crisis, the
case was subsequently deferred to 2023. strong ties between Hungary and Poland, government is working on a plan to secure
Romania’s offshore gas tax that has as well as foster co-operation among the additional sources.
held up big projects in the Black Sea is set Visegrad Group (Hungary, Poland, Czechia Petkov said that the authorities are
to be revised by the first half of this year and Slovakia) and the development of the looking for options to store additional
after repeated delays, paving the way for Central and Eastern European economy, natural gas, including liquified natural gas
investment, Energy Minister Virgil Popescu he added. The sides agreed that Hungarian from Greece.
said in a Reuters interview on February 14. and Polish consumers will benefit from the Bulgaria is also seeking approval from
“We strongly believe that through the transaction. the EU to temporary lower its electricity
constructive cooperation of all parties PKN Orlen announced that it is planning exports in case Russia freezes all gas
involved in the construction of the MGD further expansion in the region and supplies.
project, gas production will begin in the development of the retail segment,
second quarter of 2022,” said Mark Beacom, Under its 2030 strategy, PKN Orlen wants
CEO of BSOG quoted by Ziarul Financiar. to boost the share of foreign stations in the Poland’s gas company
BSOG is the company behind the first entire network from 37 to 45% and operate
project for the exploration and exploitation 3,500 stations in the CEE region by 2030, PGNiG asks for dismissal
of hydrocarbons in the Black Sea launched in according to Polish press reports.
Romania after 1989. PKN Orlen sees Ebitda rising 1.5 times to of Gazprom’s price revision
Its MGD project consists of five PLN5bn (€1.1bn) by 2030.
production wells (one submarine well at the demand
Doina field and four production wells at the
Ana field) and one submarine production Montenegro’s finance Poland’s state-controlled oil and gas
complex on the Doina field. A submarine company PGNiG said on February 11 that
pipeline of over 120 km ensures the transport ministry proposes it would ask for dismissal of the Russian
of gas from the Ana platform to the shore, state-owned gas giant Gazprom’s demand
to the new gas treatment plant in Corbu legislation changes to to retroactively revise the price of gas
commune, Constanţa county. under a long-term supply contract expiring
In total, BSOG has invested $600mn in lower excise duties on fuels this year.
the Black Sea Midia perimeter, according to The demand, which Gazprom served
the latest information available. Montenegro’s finance ministry will propose in a notice to the arbitration tribunal
legislation changes that would allow the gov- in Stockholm in January, should be “be
ernment to reduce the excise duties on fuels, dismissed as formally inadmissible or,
Hungarian PM discusses the ministry’s secretary Branko Krvavac wrote alternatively, as unfounded and without
on Twitter on February 16.
merit”, PGNiG said in a market filing.
energy issues and V4 co- els in Montenegro in the past weeks and the another in the tit-for-tat saga of pricing
Fuel prices have reached record-high lev-
The Russian company’s notice is yet
operation in talks with MOL, government has already attempted to seek par- that has involved the two companies for
liament’s approval for legislation changes that years now, with political undertones.
PKN Orlen leaders would allow the reduction of duties. Poland has long said that Gazprom’s role
“This was the decision of the Ministry of far exceeds that of a purely sales-motivated
Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with the Finance and Social Welfare in December when commercial company and that Gazprom is
heads of Hungarian oil and gas company the parliament has turned it down. Should they in fact a tool of Russia’s strong-arm foreign
MOL and MOL’s Polish peer PKN Orlen at have adopted it, we would have been able to policy.
his office in the Castle District on February help citizens already,” Krvavac wrote. Gazprom wants the Stockholm tribunal
16. He added that the previous DPS-led gov- to review a retroactive increase of the
Orban discussed energy sovereignty ernment increased the excise duties. contract price after the Russian company’s
in Central and Eastern Europe and the requests to do so, issued in 2017 and 2020,
strengthening of the North-South energy elicited no response from PGNiG.
corridor with MOL chairman and CEO Gazprom is looking to regain some

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