8/17/2006

Energy authorities want to withdraw licenses from gas importers

Companies which plan to import gas alarm that URE authorities want to cancel their concessions. The regulator says not to worry but continues the process.

Several months ago, the gas sector companies warned that the Energy Regulation Authorities URE demand all companies with gas imports concessions to come and show how they operate. The majority of the firms told the regulator that they did not use their licenses because the liberalization of the market is not easy due to improper regulations. PGNiG controlled by the state is the country’s gas monopoly and its position will be strong in the upcoming years. The companies described what they were doing to import gas hoping that URE would see their problems.

According to unofficial sources, URE launched administration proceedings to withdraw concessions from 12 companies.

“We are investigating all 27 firms with the concessions to trade gas abroad. We want to know whether they use them or now. We will see, what they are planning. We will see to every case individually”, Wieslaw Wojcik, URE deputy CEO said.

He refused to give names of the companies whose licenses may be taken away.

“We won’t talk about names”, Wieslaw Wojcik said.

According to “PB” sources, the companies on the black list include: Pulawy nitrogen plant, E.ON Ruhrgas, PKN Orlen, Anwil or Ekoenergiz. “PB” did not manage to confirm it in Anwil only. A company whose license is withdrawn cannot apply for it in three years.

“We have been told that URE has launched administration procedure to withdraw the concession for natural gas trading in abroad. We don’t agree with URE arguments. Our concession was not frozen. We signed agreements with gas deliverers and we even took part in a tender to deliver gas for PGNiG. It is not our fault that the gas was not bought”, Marcin Buczkowski, Pulawy nitrogen plant said.

He assured that his company would do everything not to lose the concession.

German E.ON Ruhrgas cannot understand URE.

“In Western Europe there is already gas shortage. The industry worries about winter. But if Poland does not want the gas, it may throw out importers”, Paul Wolters representing E.ON Ruhrgas in Poland said.

In his opinion, the European Commission is also investigating the conditions to run operations requiring concession in Poland.

“Probably the revision of the market conducted by URE should prevent the situation when the majority of gas importers import gas from the East. It would strengthen the monopoly as this direction is controlled by Gazprom. But why URE wants to withdraw the concessions? There are other ways to regulate the quantity of gas imported from one direction”, Lech Gizelbach, the CEO of Ekoenergiz said.

In 2005, PGNiG sold 13.5 billion of cubic meters of gas. The net sales amounted to PLN 8.7 billion (EUR 2.2 billion). 6.3 billion cubic meters of gas was imported by PGNiG to Poland from Russia, while 2.5 billion cubic meters came from Asia. According to PGNiG’s estimates, the monopoly may lose 30 percent of the market due to the liberalization.

(PLN 1 = EUR 0.258)

Source:pulsbiznesu.pl



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