Slovgas 4/2004 - Slovenský plynárenský a naftový zväz

Summary
90th anniversary of the oil and natural gas produktion
in Slovakia present an opportunity to publish
a mono-topical issue of the professional magazine
Slovgas. This issue does not only focus on the
history of the oil industry, but on the oil company
NAFTA as well.
Editorial
Author of the editorial, the CEO of the joint stock
company NAFTA, Mr. Alain Rossignol, returns
back in the introduction to the year 1914, when
farmer Medlen discovered hydrocarbon Slovakia
and his first experience with gas use ended by an
explosion. At that time, there was practically no international
business exchange in hydrocarbon trading,
the oil production was concentrated in the
USA and in Russia, and Europe was split into several
opposite fields struggling each against the
other ones.
Ninety years later Europe is pacified and unified,
and Slovakia has gained a natural identity and an
equal seat in this European Union, where rules and
standards apply to everybody evenly at best fair
conditions for development and competition.
One could have the nostalgic reminiscences of the
20th Century as the gold age for oil as the world
leading economic and political parameter.
On the other side the 21st Century will very likely
be quoted as the age of the end of the “Oil Adventure”
all over the world.
This will have a significant but not so negative
impact on NAFTA a.s., as the company NAFTA a.s.
has been preparing since more than 30 years its
meeting with its future by investing into development
of Underground Gas Storage in old depleted
production fields in Western Slovakia.
With Slovakia joining the European Union, a time
is now open for NAFTA, its shareholders and
its employees, to take part to the development of
modern trends for Underground Gas Storage in
the respect of common market rules and sustained
environmental concerns.
Interview with Managing Director
Already the title of the interview with managing
director of NAFTA, a.s., Mr. Bohumil Kratochvíl:
I see the future of NAFTA mainly in natural gas
storage, is indicating its content. Due to the fact,
that the activities of hydrocarbon exploration and
production have been separated from the activities
of natural gas storage, he looks at the future
from the two viewpoints. Exploration and production
are actually the production; we calculate the
investment, gain and sell the commodity. On the
contrary, storage means providing services. If we
compare the revenues from the sales of commodities
and sales of services, it results that storage
is now more important for NAFTA from the explicitly
economic point of view. Mr. Kratochvil points
out, that in exploration and production the company
depends, up to a considerable point, on what
can still be found in Slovakia. And this, according
to him, is only hard to be predicted. The company
can do its best here, i.e. perform a quality exploration
ourselves or with partners but it can find only
what the nature actually offers. Nothing else, and
also at adequate costs only. So in this case a great
part is out of NAFTA’s control.
However, storage is an absolutely different activity.
It is still necessary service because so far nobody
has invented a better way to keep natural gas
in storage.
Managing director reflects in the interview also
the new situation, which has arisen after the Slovakia’s
entry to the EU. He claims, that this fact
will definitely affect the company competitiveness
but not in the sense whether NAFTA will be competitive
or not. I mean that the competition that
may appear here will be much harder than it has
been until now. As for the risks, in his opinion there
are three main ones – the technical risk, the market
risk and the legislation risk.
As for the technical risk, NAFTA is forced to have
such structures and technologies that will be
able to technically compete with the others (i.e.
system advancement). He thinks that many things
have changed at NAFTA under the control of Ruhrgas
and Gaz de France especially from the viewpoint
of technological advancement and technical
know-how.
Next risk according to Mr. Kratochvil is the market
risk as such because NAFTA can only guess
what the need for storage capacities will be in the
future on an open market. It can be higher and the
flexibility of the storage can be much more emphasized.
However, the need for storage can also
be lower, depending on the market needs and on
the requirements for secure supplies. So the market
risk means whether the need for storage capacities
would be higher or lower.
The third risk is the legislation risk because the
European legislation keeps changing. The first European
directive, which has a certain idea of the
structure of natural gas industry and positions of
individual operators on the market, has been passed,
and there is also another directive, specifying
the first one and changing the situation. National
legislation systems also change, by which every
country reacts to the European directive in slightly
different way, and this might result in a relative big
scale of possible positions of a storage provider on
the market. The company NAFTA Gbely can influence
this development only up to a certain point.
In spite of the fact, that the managing director
dedicates a major part of the interview to the topic
of underground gas storage, he believes that Slovakia
has not yet said her last word in hydrocarbon
production.
History of Oil Industry
Slovgas offers its readers a brief history of oil industry
in Slovakia, and provides in a transparent
manner the historic milestones in the existence of
the company NAFTA from 1918 up to present time.
The whole 90 years of oil and natural gas produktion
in Slovakia are considered also from the
viewpoint of technical development in exploration
and produktion, and special attention is paid to the
history of underground gas storage by the company
NAFTA. The reader finds out, what is the difference
between the oil produktion by autoflow
and by spooning, what was the development of
methods for separation of oil from water, as well
as which drilling equipment was used by the miners
before and after the 2nd World War. Authors
of the article are dealing also with the technology
for natural gas treatment and cleaning, which
is depending on its composition and on the operation
and pressure conditions.
The history of underground gas storage started
at the beginning of 1970s, when the first cubic
meters of natural gas, which was imported from
Russia by the gas line Brotherhood, were pressed
into the developing storage facilities in the
so called Labian horizons in the terrier of municipality
Lab.
Retainers’ Reminiscences
The chapter on history of oil industry in Slovakia is
supplemented by the reminiscences of retainers to
establishment of NAFTA. Regardless of the positions
they started and ended with, they are consensual
in their liking of their job in spite of the fact,
that they often had to work under harsh conditions
and that they were marked by the changes, which
came by the end of 1960s and the beginning of
1970s. They were satisfied with the jobs they performed,
and appreciated the family atmosphere,
in which the lived among and with oilers. Many of
them raised up children, who are continuing in the
oiler tradition, similarly, as they were ascendants
of their parents.
Among the retainers, we may find an attendee
of the historically 1st class of apprentice school,
which was founded by the former Czechoslovak
Oil Mines. There are also people with university
degrees, who started in NAFTA at common positions,
but managed by hard work, even in spite of
the unfavourable destiny, to achieve the top positions.
There are also common looking staff members,
whose professionalism and human qualities
promoted them to personalities. In their reminiscences,
they return to the times, when they had
started and their working tool had been a hand
driller, and at their leaving, they were saying farewell
to a diamond turbine driller. They are proud
on the fact, that during their era the historically deepest
drill in Slovakia was achieved.
The professional life of many of them has been
changed after NAFTA Gbely decided to implement
the project of underground gas storage. The quality
of the professional team, which was in charge
of the project, is evident from their deep reminiscences
of their long-term boss, who remained for
them not only a highly acknowledged professional,
but also a great man.
Most of them started in 1950s, and it was not
soft beginnings. The working conditions of their
descendants can not be compared to those, in
which they started.
The future of NAFTA was however not only decided
upon in the terrain, but also in the conference
rooms. This happened in years, when the idea
was supported to split from the Czechoslovak Oil
Mines in Hodonin an independent Slovak company
NAFTA Gbely, but also in times, when the routes
of oilers and the gas industry had been connected
from the organisational point of view, and
last but not least, also at the beginning of 1990s,
when the former director was able to consolidate
his position after NAFTA Gbely splitted from the Oil
and Gas Industry by changing its legal form from a
public enterprise to a joint stock company.
NAFTA and SPNZ
People from the company NAFTA were not only
active as professionals, but many of them dedicated
themselves besides of their work also to activities
in frame of the Slovak Gas and Oil Association
(SPNZ). General secretary of the association
informs not only on the representation of the company
NAFTA in the bodies of SPNZ, but also on activities
at international events and in frame of the
international gas organisation IGU. He expresses
his acknowledgments to all those, who stood at
the rise of SPNZ 11 years ago, but also to its presently
active representatives, who are ensuring a
broad professional activities.
30 Slovgas • 4/2004