Puławy, 9 June 2008

Good Prospects for the Coal Gasification Project

melamine III visitation (from left: Hubert Kamola, Jerzy Buzek ) press conference (from left: Paweł Jarczewski, Jerzy Buzek)

On June 9th 2008, the President of Zakłady Azotowe Puławy S.A. and the President of Lubelski Węgiel Bogdanka met in Puławy with Prof. Jerzy Buzek, Member of the European Parliament, to discuss the prospects for the coal gasification project. A year earlier the two companies signed a letter of intent, in which they declared their willingness to cooperate in the area of processing of coal for application in chemical production and power generation. Prof. Jerzy Buzek is an avid promoter of such solutions and takes keen interest in the new project by LW Bogdanka and ZA Puławy. The meeting was also attended by Krzysztof Żuk, Vice-Minister of the State Treasury. The project timeframe is about five years. The Management Board of ZA Puławy has already decided to order a feasibility study for the project. It will be prepared by one of the largest engineering firms in the world. The study will make it possible to determine the project details and the manner of its financing. One financing structure option which is currently taken into consideration is to set up a special-purpose vehicle, - says Paweł Jarczewski, President of ZA Puławy. We are of course hoping to obtain financial support from the EU funds, too. We discussed this matter with Mr Jerzy Buzek today.

Coal gasification is one of the key projects included in the new business strategy of ZA Puławy for 2007-2017 and is to help the Company diversify its sources of supply of raw materials. LW Bogdanka is not only a prospective supplier of the coal for gasification but also a strategic partner in the project. Corporations and decision-makers in Europe are in the process of revising their assumptions concerning the energy security. Once again coal is attracting global interest. ZA Puławy has many times proved that it can anticipate market changes and – together with its local business partner LW Bogdanka – wishes to take the challenge and utilise its know-how and the local raw materials to accelerate its growth and take full advantage of its production capacity. I believe that such actions are of considerable importance not only for the region but also for the entire Polish economy. – comments Paweł Jarczewski.

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Coal gasification technology is more and more widely used throughout the world. Over the last 25 years, the global output of gas produced in coal gasification process increased more than twofold. Another capacity increase, of 56%, is expected before 2010. Projects based on coal gasification technology are used primarily in China, the USA, South Africa and Germany. In the coming years, the strongest development of the technology is expected to take place in China.