The transaction was approved by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) on the condition that within a year, the new entity sells PGNiG’s subsidiary Gas Storage Poland, which oversees the company’s natural-gas warehouses, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
PKN Orlen, which earlier this year took major steps to take over another state-run refiner Lotos, said the UOKIK’s decision was “another milestone towards the creation of a Polish multi-utility group.”
Meanwhile, Polish Deputy Prime Minister Jacek Sasin told reporters that Wednesday was “a very important day” for Poland and for strengthening the country’s energy security.
New multi-utility group
Sasin, who is also minister for state assets, said it was in Poland’s national interest to create a multi-utility group that meets the challenges of energy transition and ensures the country’s energy security, without making the production of energy dependent on foreign companies.
He added that the new group would be a major market player, able to better respond to fluctuations in the prices of natural resources.
Sasin told reporters that the new multi-utility group could launch its operations before the end of the year, with the State Treasury holding a nearly 50-percent stake in the company.
PKN Orlen’s CEO Daniel Obajtek said the new multi-utility group “will guarantee that not only Poland, but also the whole region, become energy secure.”
The merger of PKN Orlen, PGNiG and Lotos “represents an opportunity to give Polish customers access to secure energy at acceptable prices,” Obajtek added, as quoted by the state PAP news agency.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP