Europe / Caspian / CIS
Country profile: Poland
Location: | billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.) |
Climate: | temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent showers and thundershowers |
Terrain: | mostly flat plain; mountains along southern border |
Size: | 312679 sq. km total (Land area: 304459 sq. km Water area: 8220 sq.km) |
Population: | 38,500,696 (July 2008 est.) |
Languages: | Polish 97.8%, other and unspecified 2.2% (2002 census) |
Government: | republic |
Capital city: | Warsaw |
Legal system: | based on a mixture of Continental (Napoleonic) civil law and holdover Communist legal theory; changes being gradually introduced as part of broader democratization process; limited judicial review of legislative acts |
Currency: | zloty (PLN) |
Licensing: |
Country profile
Poland, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic (commonly referred to as Slovakia), and Hungary are members of the Visegrad Group, created in February 1991 at the northern Hungarian town of Visegrad. After World War II until 1989-1990, these countries were Communist states, as well as members of the Warsaw Pact. On January 1, 1993, the Czech and Slovak Republics, previously Czechoslovakia, split to form two separate states. During the past decade, the Visegrad group has made the transition to democracy and to market-based economies. On May 1, 2004, the Visegrad countries became members of the European Union (EU). In 1999, Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic became the first former Warsaw Pact countries to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) . Slovakia joined NATO in 2004. The Czech Republic became a member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1995, Hungary and Poland joined in 1996, and Slovakia in 2001.
As members of the Visegrad Group, the four countries also belong to Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) . Slovenia , Romania , and Bulgaria are members too. The Visegrad countries are dependent on trade with the EU, in particular with Germany . These four countries also continue to face economic restructuring challenges, including: modernizing large, and to a certain extent, antiquated agricultural sectors (especially in Poland); implementing more energy efficient processes for industry in order to decrease energy consumption; absorbing the costs from cleaning up heavily-polluting industries; and adapting industries and services to EU standards.
Energy production and consumption
Oil | Gas | |
Production: | 32,800 bbl/day (2005 est.) | 5 billion cu m (2005) |
Consumption: | 462,700 bbl/day (2005 est.) | 15 billion cu m (2005) |
Exports: | 51,780 bbl/day (2004 est.) | 42 million cu m (2005) |
Imports: | 480,300 bbl/day (2004 est.) | 10 billion cu m (2005) |
Reserves: | 96 million bbl (1 January 2006 est.) | 158 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.) |
Major fields: |
Poland - recent news
23 Jul 24 |
Poland: Lightsource bp’s first solar project in Poland reaches Commercial Operation Lightsource bp marks a milestone in Poland with the 40MW Kotun project reaching Commercial Operation. The Kotun solar project reaching Commercial Operation marks the start of a long-term Power Purchase Agreement between Microsoft and Lightsource bp inked in September last year for the 40MWac solar project. |
18 Jun 24 |
Poland: Equinor expands renewables portfolio in Poland with a new solar plant Equinor’s third solar plant in Poland, Lipno has started test production. This brings the company’s onshore renewables capacity in Poland to ~200 MW, and further strengthens its position in one of the fastest-growing renewable energy markets in Europe. |
13 May 24 |
Poland: Cadeler strengthens position in Polish offshore wind market after securing vessel reservation agreements with two Equinor and Polenergia JVs Cadeler has secured vessel reservation agreements with both MFW Baltyk II and MFW Baltyk III, each a joint venture project owned 50% by Equinor and 50% by Polenergia, marking the first contract between the parties. Operations are scheduled to commence in 2027. The wind farms are situated in the Baltic Sea. |
10 Apr 24 |
Poland: ORLEN Group to deliver another 1 bcm of self-produced Norwegian gas to Poland via Baltic Pipe The ORLEN Group has increased the volume of natural gas transported to Poland from its own production assets in Norway by more than 30%, equating to an additional 1 bcm annually. Gas produced from Norwegian fields by PGNiG Upstream Norway already accounts for about a half of the entire Baltic Pipe capacity booked by ORLEN. |
28 Mar 24 |
Poland: Seaway7 awarded contract offshore Poland Subsea7 has announced the award to Seaway7, part of the Subsea7 Group, of a sizeable contract by PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna and Ørsted for the transport and installation of the substations for the Baltica 2 wind farm, offshore Poland. |
Poland - more news
Other countries in this region
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- Czech Republic,
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