On Monday, 10 October, the Extraordinary General Meeting of the Polish Oil and Gas Company (PGNiG), will adopt a resolution on the merger with the Polish Oil Company Orlen.
The merger between PGNiG and PKN Orlen is proceeding according to the approved plan on 28 September 2022 when the Extraordinary General Meeting of PKN Orlen agreed to merge the company with the Polish Oil and Gas Company.
According to the government and the management boards of both companies, the merger between PGNiG and PKN Orlen will be of key importance for the development of the fuel and energy industry and will strengthen Poland’s energy security. It will increase investment opportunities and improve the negotiating position of the merged company, which will further improve Poland’s crude oil security. The synergies obtained as a result of the merger will enable an effective implementation of the energy necessary transformation that all European countries, including Poland.
It should also be noted that the newly created multienergy group will be able to manage the raw material base more efficiently, which will reduce the risk resulting from oil and gas market volatility. The increase in scale will allow PGNiG to take advantage of its unique potential in the execution of exploration projects (in terms of geological surveys and drilling).
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State Assets Jacek Sasin announced in March this year that the four merged companies, i.e. PKN Orlen with Energa, Lotos and PGNiG, will have about 78 billion PLN in total capitalisation, 200 billion PLN in annual revenues and EBITDA profit of 20 billion PLN. He added at the time that the state would take a nearly 50% stake in such a group.
The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) gave conditional approval for the merger between PKN Orlen and the Polish Oil and Gas Company (PGNiG) in March this year. However, the deal could proceed if Gas Storage Poland, which manages the gas storage facilities currently owned by PGNiG, is sold.
Adrian Andrzejewski