PKN ORLEN at CERAWeek in Houston

The panel’s other participants agreed that the global energy map had been redrawn, mainly as a result of the shale gas revolution in the United States. Attention was also drawn to the fact that Europe is being offered a tremendous opportunity that it cannot afford to miss. Stephen Pryor, President of the ExxonMobile Chemical Company, appealed to the US government to green light natural gas exports. In his speech, Mr Pryor criticised the government's constraint of LNG exports, which is driven by concern that selling gas overseas would cause US prices to rise (it is low gas prices that have improved the US economy’s competitive advantage).

Much of the conference’s time was spent discussing the crisis gripping Europe and the options available to mitigate the effects of economic turbulence by investing in new technologies. The implications of the crisis for the refining sector were addressed by Philip Rinaldi, President of Philadelphia Energy Solutions. The Carlyle Group and Sunoco, a joint venture under his management, embarked on a project to save one of the oldest and largest refineries on the US’s East Coast. In 2012, the Philadelphia-based refinery was scheduled for shut-down, which would have led to a loss of 850 jobs and many local service providers going out of business. With that in mind, the audience listened with great attention to the president of the largest Polish company say that despite the bleak economic climate lingering in most of Europe, Poland remains strong and is helping prop up economic indicators for the rest of the European Union. Mr Krawiec also noted that many Polish companies are managing to leverage the crisis to their advantage and thus buck the global recession, and added that Poland should remain one of the fastest-growing economies in the EU.

The PKN ORLEN chief executive also referred to the development of shale gas production technologies, which have revolutionised the US industry. “These ground-breaking technologies have helped tap into unconventional hydrocarbon resources in North America and have largely contributed to advancing all three energy policy priorities: energy security, job creation, and the shift to a low-emissions economy.”

He also made a point of saying that the scenario of reduced emissions, increased efficiency and sustained economic growth that the US now sees materialising can be repeated in many other countries and regions, notably on the back of large-scale shale gas production. “Over the last decade the shale gas success story in the United States has turned natural gas from a scarce and costly fuel to a much cheaper, more readily available resource obtainable from domestic sources. Today we can also see that the American shale gas boom could be replicated for tight oil,” Mr Krawiec said.

He also underlined the need to develop new, pan-European legislation concerning a reduced emissions economy and stressed that despite legislative efforts, carbon emissions from the energy sector have been on the rise in the past few years. Between 2010 and 2012 Europe saw an almost 8% increase in the amount of carbon dioxide released to the atmosphere. “Grim statistics reveal the sad truth about the seemingly eco-friendly mechanisms devised and implemented by a centre of power with ambitions to shape global climate policy – the EU instruments simply do not work. European Union institutions should read this inconvenient emissions data as a warning sign and the ultimate cue to devising solutions that will enable member states to implement an effective energy and climate policy on a global scale,” Mr Krawiec continued.

He also pointed out the poor choice of tools that are supposed to have stimulated the European economies. The worst of the eurozone crisis may have been staved off, but a number of issues remain unresolved, for instance those concerning shale gas production in Europe. The chief executive of PKN Orlen stressed that the strategy of hiding heads in the sand and hoping that problems go away or become irrelevant fails to measure up to reality. He insisted that what the European economy needs today is an innovative approach, openness and refreshed tools so that the applied improvement measures bring tangible benefits.

Addressing this point, other participants of this CERAWeek panel highlighted the ongoing changes in energy policies worldwide – the emergence of new fuel resources in Europe could strengthen the relative position of countries which engage in upstream projects. The US example was often brought up. Not only was the country able to cut fuel imports but also entered the scene as a potential fuel exporter. The panel's moderator, Jim Burkhard, Vice President of IHS CERA, emphasised the immense interest taken by the US upstream industry in unconventional oil exploration in Poland. Many questions from the floor dealt with the progress of work, key risks, and the chances of replicating the US shale revolution in Europe.

Summing up, Jacek Krawiec cited PKN ORLEN's major accomplishment in delivering excellent performance despite economic uncertainty to illustrate the power of consistency in pursuing strategic goals. “PKN ORLEN is a perfect example that stable growth in the refining sector is possible despite economic turbulence, even in the European Union with its advocacy groups, excessive regulation, lack of long-term strategy, and quite naive approach to some of the challenges of contemporary civilisation,” Mr Krawiec said.

CERAWeek is the premier annual energy conference held in Houston by IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates, a renowned research and consultancy centre. Besides Jacek Krawiec, other speakers during this year's gathering included Khalid Al-Falih (Saudi Aramco), Ryan Lance (ConocoPhillips), Bob Dudley (BP), Igor Siechin (Rosneft), Bill Gates (Microsoft), and Daniel Akerson (General Motors).