POLAND ISSUES DETAILS FOR BIDDING ROUND

Poland's Ministry of Environmental Protection, Natural Resources, and Forestry has disclosed bidding details for its second oil and gas exploration licensing round.

Twenty-seven blocks in the Lublin area of the Polish Lowlands and in the Carpathian Mountains are on offer. Polish Oil & Gas Co. (POGC) will participate in nine blocks near Lublin, while operatorship of Ciecierzyn and Melgiew gas fields near Lublin are offered for joint development with POGC (OGJ, June 14, p. 17).

Although a bidding round opening date has not been set, companies will have 6 months to submit their applications once the announcement is made. Applications are invited from single companies or groups for one or more concessions.

Applications are to include proposed work programs for the blocks, with minimum investment by the applicant being the cost of the work program.

Training and technology transfer programs worth at least $50,000/year for an exploration concession and $100,000/year for an exploitation concession are required. Details of environmental protection safeguards and proposed utilization of Polish services, contractors, and labor also are required. When winners are chosen, selected firms will be invited to visit the ministry in Warsaw to negotiate contracts.

Signature bonuses will be due when concessions are awarded. The size of proposed bonus is one of the standards for deciding the awards. Also, a fee of as much as $500/sq km/year of concession will be charged until production begins. Production royalties will be negotiated by the concession authority during agreement of contracts.

Companies submitting applications will be required to purchase one or more data packages from either the ministry's Bureau of Geological Concessions or from Simon Petroleum Technology, Llandudno, U.K.