However, there is another opinion that exists that European oil industry was born on a dark night on July 31, 1853 when, during short a visit in Lvov, Ignacy Lukasiewicz (Pole)) was called to a local hospital to provide light from one of his lamps for an emergency surgery. Impressed with his invention, the hospital ordered several lamps and 500 kg of kerosene.
The Carpathian Mountains in Poland abound in oil seeps, and Carpathian oil, hand dipped from pits dug in front of the seeps, was burned in street lamps, as early as to provide light in the Polish town of Krosno. Unfortunately, the seep oil was a dark, viscous liquid that stuck to everything. It also burned with a foul smell and gave off more smoke and soot than other lamp oils, most of which were rendered from animal fat.
Ignacy Lukasiewicz, a Polish druggist saw the potential of using seep oil in lamps as a cheap alternative to expensive whale oil. To make a clean-burning fuel, he began experimenting with distillation techniques, perfected earlier by Dr Abraham Gesner in Canada, to produce clear kerosene from smelly seep oil.
His experiments gained widespread acknowledgement. Lukasiewicz enlisted the aid of a business partner and travelled to the Vienna, capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, to register his distillation process with the government on December 31, 1853.
To provide oil for his kerosene business, Lukasiewicz initially collected a thick, sticky crude from shallow, hand-dug wells in the Gorlice region, an area in the Carpathians about 50 miles west of the Polish town of Bobrka. The following year, he teamed up with Titus Trzecieski and Mikolaj Klobassa to establish an "oil mine" in Bóbrka, which pumped crude oil from hand-drilled, 30 to 50 meter deep wells. It was the first exploration (drilling) on industry scale in the world.
Later, wells as deep as 150 meters were drilled that produced lighter, better-quality crude from which to distil kerosene. Other entrepreneurs dug their own wells and a thriving Polish oil industry developed, which was followed in 1857 by the drilling of wells at Bend, northeast of Bucharest, on the Romanian side of the Carpathians. A full two years later, Edwin Drake, who perhaps had knowledge of the Polish developments, drilled his famous well in Pennsylvania, an event wrongly labelled by many in the industry as the drilling of the "first oil well".
This was the beginning of the oil age, which now powers the world, and how it functions.
THE GROWING DEMAND FOR ENERGY IS CONDITIONED BY TWO FACTORS: demographic changes and environmental regimes. In the 21st century, hydrocarbons will still play an important role, mainly natural gas. It will meet 28-29% of the world's energy balance in 2050.
Brown and hard coals will be employed as well, especially as their resources and deposits exceed those of the other hydrocarbons. A variety of highly efficient technologies of coal application are perfected. Nonetheless, natural gas, being a clean fuel, easy for transportation and distribution, is competitive to other energy sources (despite the high cost of prospecting and exploitation).
POLAND'S GAS AND OIL COMPANIES PRESENT IN PAKISTAN FROM 1985:
The PGNiG corporation comprises several Polish companies, conducts exploration and prospecting work domestically and abroad, and within its own organisational structure. The work mainly includes the exploration and development of geological structures containing reserves of hydrocarbons in the form of natural gas and oil. The exploration and prospecting of reserves comprise the study of historical data as well as geological analyses and geophysical and drilling research. Modern equipment and experienced staff enable the companies to perform high-quality work in the field of deposit exploration.
The exploration and production activity in Poland is regulated under The Geological and Mining Law and, in accordance with its provisions, it is subject to licensing.
THE PGNIG GROUP HAS BEEN PRESENT WITH ITS EXPLORATION ACTIVITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND ASIA COUNTRIES FOR MANY YEARS: Iraq - in the years 1987 to 1991; Syria - in the years 1988 to 2004; Kazakhstan - since 1998; India - since 1984; Oman, Libya and of course Pakistan from 1985.
In 2005, PGNiG obtained the Kirthar exploratory license in Pakistan. The license will enable the company to perform license obligations of past years. On 18 May 2005, PGNiG and the Pakistani Government signed a three-year agreement for the exploration of hydrocarbons on the Kirthar license.
The shareholder structure of this joint venture is as following PGNiG - 70%; Pakistan Petroleum Ltd - 30%. PGNiG's interests connected with the business operations on Pakistani licenses are represented by the Operating Branch established under Pakistani law, which requires that a representative unit of the Parent Company should be established in Pakistan.
Growth Prospects for Exploration Companies in 2006, the activities of the exploration companies will include both the strengthening of their positions on the domestic market and continued expansion on foreign markets. The major foreign markets for services offered by the geophysical companies of PGNiG Group will be: Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, India.
Multiyear dedicated marketing activities enabled the companies to acquire contracts for services and geophysical work. Vast experience and constantly enhanced service portfolio have contributed to optimised use of resources.
The comprehensive range of work and continuous modernisation of specialist equipment and subassemblies, all contribute to the strengthening of the companies' positions on prospective foreign markets. Constant effort to ensure work quality and safety, as well as limiting adverse effect of work on natural environment, combined with multiyear experience support the Companies in winning new business partners on foreign markets.
POLAND HAVE THREE FIRMS FROM PGNIG GROUP: one in Karachi and two in Islamabad.
1 Oil and Gas Exploration Company Cracow Ltd conducts exploration and production drilling in the search for oil and gas deposits. They offer a wide range of the drilling services, which enable you to realise highly complicated operations in the drilling industry. This company is focused on the export of the services regarding geological, exploratory and production drilling of oil and gas wells. During more than fifty years of operations on Polish and the international market Oil and Gas Exploration Company Cracow Ltd has become an industry leader working in all climatic zones - from the arctic to the tropics. Oil and Gas Exploration Company Cracow Ltd has branches in Pakistan and Kazakhstan and representative offices in Lithuania, India, Russia and Czech Republic. They invest in training of the workforce through their Training Centre - one of the newest training centres in Poland. The training Centre has accreditation of International Well Control Forum and issues certificates accepted world-wide. Over the past three years they have been introducing a non-punitive Safety Training Observation Programme "STOP" implemented in collaboration with DuPont. Proofs of the professionalism and high quality of the services provide by OGEC Cracow Ltd is ISO-9001 is the certificate issued by BVQI.
1. Address: Oil & Gas Exploration Co Cracow, Karachi, C-64 Block 2, Clifton, phone: [+9221] 587 4304, fax: (583 750). Directors in Pakistan: Lukasz Kwieciflski and Slawomir Dymel.
2. Address: Pakistani Branch Office of PGNiG Group's, Islamabad Phone F-6/1, 15, Str.32, [+9251] 220 6521, Fax: 220 6622. Jacek Oleksy is the Resident Manager of Polish Oil and Gas Company.
3. Address: Geofizyka Cracov Ltd - Islamabad, F-8/2, Park Road 36 B, Phone: [+9251] 226 1016, 226 2608, Fax: 225 1829. Ivan Vrubel, Ph.D is the Country General Manager.
In line with PGNiG Group's strategy for 2005-2008, the operating plan "The Acquisition of New Strategic Customers in the Power Sector" was launched with a view to enhancing the Group's commercial efficiency. The feasibility of a number of pilot projects in the areas of construction, extension and modernisation of energy sources with the use of natural gas was reviewed.
The most significant project in 2006 concerns the approval and implementation of the concept to unbundled trading activity from technical gas distribution within PGNiG Group. This involves the transformation of 6 Gas Distribution Companies into Distribution System Operators (DSOs). The trading activity will be separated from the existing Gas Distribution Companies and transferred to PGNiG. The PGNiG and Polish companies in the oil and gas sector are keen to expand and explore joint ventures and other investment opportunities in Pakistan.