CEO of ORLEN Upstream appointed President of the Polish Exploration & Production Industry Organization

In June 2011, the Polish Exploration and Production Industry Organization (Organizacja Polskiego Przemysłu Poszukiwawczo-Wydobywczego - OPPPW) celebrated its first anniversary. To date, the position of President of its Management Board has been held by Michael Seymour, the Organization’s founding father with a long and extensive track-record working in the exploration and production industry, who has been involved in the development of the petroleum sector in Central and Eastern Europe for a number of years.

- Michael Seymour is an extraordinary figure of the oil sector – a true visionary, who laid down the foundations of OPPPW. As ORLEN Upstream was one of the founders of the Polish Exploration and Production Industry Organization, we had the pleasure of working directly with Michael. All the more reason for me to feel honoured to inherit this position from such a prominent figure - said Wiesław Prugar, CEO of Orlen Upstream after the decision had been announced.

OPPPW was established on June 29th 2010 in Warsaw under the Act on Employers’ Organizations of May 23rd 1991. It brings together oil and gas companies involved in the exploration for and production of hydrocarbons in Poland. The Organization’s main objective is to establish a platform for exchange of knowledge and views on legal, economic, political and social factors affecting the exploration and production business in Poland. The Management Board of OPPPW is elected for a term of three years in a secret ballot at the Members Meeting. The President may be re-elected for another term only once. Currently, the OPPPW is organised into four Sub-Committees, which pursue the goals set forth in the Organization’s by-laws: the Environmental, Laws & Regulations, PR & Government Regulations and Technical Sub-Committees.

At present, the OPPPW has 13 members: Aurelian Oil & Gas Poland, BNK Polska, Chevron Polska Energy Resources, Cuadrilla Poland, ExxonMobil Poland, Grupa Lotos, Lane Energy Poland, Marathon Petroleum Poland Services, Nexen Petroleum Polska, ORLEN Upstream, Polskie Górnictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo, San Leon (Poland) and Talisman Energy Polska. It also comprises five observers: Celtique Energie Poland, ConocoPhillips, Dart Energy (Poland), Realm Energy and Strzelecki Energia.

Wiesław Prugar

Wiesław Prugar is a graduate of the AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków, the Gliwice University of Technology and the Warsaw School of Economics. His professional career began at the Institute of Oil and Gas Mining in Kraków. He has developed and implemented a number of innovative solutions, not previously applied by the Polish industry, as evidenced by six patents. In 1990–1991, he worked in the United States.

Upon his return to Poland, he started working for Polski Serwis Płynów Wiertniczych Sp. z o.o. Then, from 1999 he was employed at Polskie Górnictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo S.A., where he was involved in several unique projects on the Polish market, such as the introduction of a tariff system on the newly developed, regulated market of natural gas and the separation of Distribution Companies from PGNiG S.A. In 2003–2005 he held the position of Commercial Director at Gazomontaż S.A., a company engaged in building oil and gas infrastructure. In 2006, he started building a team of E & P experts at PKN ORLEN. Currently he serves as CEO of ORLEN Upstream Sp. z o.o.

Mr Prugar has been granted the medal of merit “Zasłużony dla Polskiego Górnictwa i Gazownictwa” and the Silver Medal award “Zasłużony dla Budownictwa”. He holds the title of General Mining Director of 2nd Grade granted by the Minister of Economy.