“Kramarzowka shows that there is a bright future for natural gas extraction in Podkarpacie Region. We estimate that, within the next five years, local production will rise to 1.75bn m³/yr, or by 28% compared with 2017 when we produced 1.37bn m³. We are committed to unlocking the potential of Podkarpacie, and with this in mind two years ago we embarked on a strategy which sets new goals for exploration of natural gas. Domestic resources are the most reliable and commercially viable sources of energy,” said PGNiG CEO Piotr Wozniak.

PGNiG has been pursuing its new exploration and extraction strategy since 2016. It chose Podkarpacie for an exploration project which involved the biggest three-dimensional seismic imagining in Europe and scanned nearly 1,300 km² around Przemysl–Kramarzowka–Rybotycze-Fredropol. PGNiG estimates that natural gas resources in this area are as large as 50bn m³.

Two months ago, PGNiG expressed delight at its revamp of a 49-year-old gas field, following the deepening of its Przemysl-49 well. 

A very high success rate with the drill-bit, thanks to a thorough analysis of seismic data which helped it identify the most promising drilling sites, has encouraged the company to embark on an extensive well campaign in the coming years. 

Wozniak added that in its future operations PGNiG will use state-of-the-art equipment such as drilling rig Bentec 2000 HP. It is the first new equipment for deep drilling bought by Grupa Kapitalowa PGNiG since 2012. It drills wells up to 7000 m deep and can relocate independently to a new site without the need for disassembly and assembly and will be put to work first at Kramarzowka.