Amoco Poland Ltd. has pulled out of its agreement with the Polish government that made it the first foreign company to win exploration rights in the country.
The deal, signed Oct. 2, 1992, involved exploration of a block south of Warsaw and one southeast of Lublin covering a combined 2.7 million acres.
Amoco blamed the move on lack of progress in talks with the government over tax issues and low oil and gas prices.
Amoco Poland Pres. Karl Arleth said, "Unfortunately, neither Amoco nor Poland is immune from economic forces that dictate price trends or from worldwide competition that exists for investment funds."
A planned $20 million program of seismic surveys and drilling on the blocks was said to be "no longer economically justified."
At the same time, Amoco reaffirmed its commitment to exploration for coalbed methane in Poland and said it is bidding for acreage in southern Poland under the second exploration licensing round (OGJ, Dec. 20, 1993, p. 31).
Amoco's commitments under a 120,000 acre coalbed methane license in Upper Silesia include drilling of 15 wells during 3 years at a cost of $10 million.
Arleth said Amoco remains convinced of Poland's attractions for investments in natural gas, power generation, refining, marketing, and petrochemicals.
"We will continue to pursue strategic business opportunities that are of mutual benefit to Poland and Amoco," he said.
