PKN Orlen Research Articles

The impact of ESG ratings on the market performance of commodity stock sector before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Motivation: The growing importance of ESG in the international economy makes the analysed issues extremely interesting. More and more studies show the growing role of ESG performance on company financial and market results as well as analyse the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the financial market. The study of rate of return and the relationship between the largest company companies in European Union Member States is of key importance considering the investment portfolio risk.Aim: The main aim of the article is impact assessment of ESG performance of the firm (proxied by ESG scoring by Refinitiv) on the rate of return of commodity sector companies listed on financial markets of European Union Member States. The second goal of the paper is to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the rate of return of the analysed companies. The third and final goal is to assess the impact of sector leader status on the rate of return of these companies (i.e. KGHM, PKN Orlen, Royal Dutch Shell and Rio Tinto).Results: ESG disclosure by the surveyed companies and ESG scoring had negative impact on the rate of return, while E, S and G scorings did not affect rate of return at all. Sector leaders were less negatively impacted by the COVID-19 economic crisis than the rest of the sector, however sector leadership status was not statistically significant. COVID-19 pandemic positively influenced the rate of return of analysed companies. In case of commodities stock companies, the economic crisis caused by the pandemic brought about higher levels of uncertainty in the financial markets.

Corporations’ Adaptation of Green Strategies in the EU: Transformation of Oil and Gas Companies

The purpose of this study to assess the adaptation of the oil and gas companies’ green strategies under the influence of ambitious EU’s and Paris Agreement’s climate initiatives. The primary aim is to elaborate more on the literature which were reviewed to provide analytical framework for the green transformation of the oil and gas companies and highlight how could they be applied in the above-mentioned research scheme. Furthermore, the study reveals at what extent the EU policies are affecting sustainable strategies of oil and gas companies compared to those entities which are outside of the EU. At this phase of the research 6 companies have been already analyzed: Orsted, Neste, Shell, British Petroleum and OMV and PKN Orlen. These companies are clustered according to their pace and maturity in green transformation. In the next phase of the research these companies are going to be grouped by their spendings on green projects, and their maturity in the green transformation will be categorized based on the portion of the green capital expenditures and divestment of carbon-heavy products.

Energy Security as a Premise for Mergers and Acquisitions on the Example of the Multi-Energy Concern PKN Orlen in the Face of the Challenges of the 2020s

A concern for ensuring energy security is particularly important in the 2020s, a decade significantly marked by economic and political uncertainty: the coronavirus pandemic, the Russian-Ukrainian war, and inflation turning into stagflation in many markets. Additionally, the national and international climate policy promoting the acquisition of energy from non-renewable sources is only a part of the problem that forces a revision of the direction and degree of diversification of energy sources. States, bearing in mind the inevitability of change, in order to maintain energy security, should not only accurately read these phenomena but also effectively prevent them. One of the available solutions is to build a multi-energy concern to ensure energy independence through diversified production and distribution of electricity and non-renewable fuels. To this end, a large international entity centred around the PKN Orlen group has existed in Poland for several years. The construction of this holding is based on M&A transactions, as effective mechanisms for long-term management, and focused around complementary, in terms of economic activity, market entities—Energa, Lotos and PGNiG. This article focuses on the assessment of the phenomenon of capital concentration in M&A transactions by PKN Orlen, with particular emphasis on the changes in the shaping of energy security in the near future and also on the basis of the directions resulting from government guidelines and policies.

DRIVERS OF LIQUID BIOFUEL PRICES IN POLAND

The general aim of the study was to determine the impact of legal regulations in force on the market of liquid biofuels and biocomponents in Poland on the prices of fatty acid methyl esters (so-called biodiesel or BIO100 biofuel). Therefore, we indicated the importance of legal regulations in shaping biodiesel prices in Poland based on empirical data from the period of 2008-2016 (the latest available data). An additional purpose was to assess the legal regulations as drivers of ecodiesel (diesel with an admixture of biodiesel) prices in Poland based on empirical data from the period 2004-2021. Institutional, legal and economic variables were distinguished, assuming that the biofuel market, like many other markets, is so heavily regulated that taking legal acts into consideration is crucial for its functioning. Multiple regression analysis was used. The sources of data were officially available databases (PKN Orlen Data, FRED Economic Research Data, as well as USD/PLN exchange rate quotations), while the sources of legal acts were the Journal of Laws of the Republic of Poland and the Official Journal of the European Union. The obtained results indicated that the prices of biofuels (specifically biodiesel) in Poland depend both on economic factors (the USD/PLN exchange rate and crude oil prices) and on some legal regulations, including domestic and EU regulations. We proved the importance of the EU directive 2003/30 on the promotion of the use of biofuels or other renewable fuels for transport, as well as acts on renewable energy sources (2015), on amending the act on liquid biocomponents and biofuels (2014) and on excise duty (2008).

Business Roundup

BUSINESS Business Roundup ShareShare onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InRedditEmail C&EN, 2022, 100 (3), p 13January 24, 2022Cite this:C&EN 100, 3, 13AbstractSabic has formed a collaboration with PKN Orlen for the development of chemical facilities in Poland. The effort could result in a new ethylene cracker in the country and the expansion of existing facilities. Arkema plans to increase global capacity for its Pebax elastomers, derived in part from castor oil, by 25% by expanding its facility in Serquigny, France. Applications for the elastomers include running shoes and ski boots. Biosynthetic Technologies has acquired the castor oil derivative specialist Innoleo. Both firms convert biobased oils into lubricants, coatings, and personal care ingredients. Perstorp has purchased the dimethylolpropionic acid (DMPA) business of Geo Specialty Chemicals. DMPA is an ingredient in water-based polyurethane coatings and adhesives. MycoWorks has closed a $125 million series C funding round led by the investment group Prime Movers Lab. The company says it will use the funds to build the first full-scale plant for its leather alternative Reishi,View: PDF | Full Text HTML

Uncertain Multi-Criteria analysis of offshore wind farms projects investments – Case study of the Polish Economic Zone of the Baltic Sea

Investments in offshore wind farms can be an effective development stimulus for an economy recovering from the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, an important issue is a multi-criteria analysis of planned investments in offshore wind farms. Such an analysis allows to identify the most important projects from the perspective of sustainable development. Taking into account the uncertainties and risks related to wind energy, and additionally taking into account the uncertainty of ex-ante evaluation, such studies need to analyse the uncertainty as widely as possible. The article presents a comprehensive methodological approach that allows for the maximum capture of uncertainties and risks related to energy investment projects in the area of wind farms. This approach involves using the fuzzy multi-criteria decision analysis (FMCDA) method, sensitivity analysis and robustness analysis based on the Monte-Carlo simulations. Additionally, the uncertainty related to the applied methodology was taken into account and the same problem was solved by using different FMCDA methods. Based on the applied approach, a case study was conducted and a ranking of offshore wind farms projects in Poland was created. It was found that the most promising project is Bałtyk II, followed by Bałtyk I, both projects being carried out by the Polenergia/Equinor consortium. However, if the preference model is not known, the Bałtyk I project has the greatest chance of taking the leasing place in the ranking (31.7%), ahead of the following projects: Baltic Power (20.4%) owned by PKN Orlen and Bałtyk III (18.6%) which is also owned by Polenergia/Equinor.

The Impact of Poland’s Energy Transition on the Strategies of Fossil Fuel Sector Companies—The Example of PKN Orlen Group

Sustainability and decarbonisation are buzzwords in today’s economy. The fossil fuel sector has had a great impact on development of many countries and it is interesting how this sector is going to survive in the era of climate neutrality imposed by the European and national decarbonisation policies. PKN Orlen is one of the largest industrial corporations in Poland and Central Europe representing the energy and fossil fuel sector. The article sets out to identify the main areas of PKN Orlen’s strategic plans resulting from the energy transition process in Poland. For this reason, the research question posed in this study is: to what extent and in what direction has Poland’s energy policy influenced the new strategy of PKN Orlen? Poland’s most recent energy policy was adopted in 2021, therefore an attempt to assess the impact of this policy on the strategy of a large player in the fossil fuel sector in such a short time horizon proves the originality of the study. The applied methodological approach, including case study, comparative analysis, and in-depth interview, was determined by the specific nature of the research problem and the fact that the analyzed sector and entity are strategic from the point of view of the country’s economy, which imposes the confidentiality of some data related to the study and determines the possibility of making them public. As shown by the research, PEP2040 had an indirect impact on shaping the strategy of PKN Orlen, while the main source of knowledge about the current and future trends is the analysis, evaluation and synthesis of various sources of information, including those from consulting companies.

PKN ORLEN lets contract for proposed new plant at Plock refinery

Semen analysis is currently performed by using two techniques. Visual assessment technique is manual observation based technique and strongly depends on the experiences of the observer. Therefore, the reliability of the results is skeptical. On the other hand, computer based expert systems are more consistent and reliable. However, they are very expensive systems, therefore, cannot be utilized in many laboratories. In this study, we proposed a hybrid expert system utilizing visual assessment environment with the computerized analyzing part to eliminate the disadvantages of each technique. In the proposed system, smartphone based data acquisition approach is used to provide more modular and practical expert system for the sperm analysis. The records are, then, transferred to the server to analyze by developed software. In this analyzing software, we proposed multi-stage hybrid analyzing approach in terms of video stabilization, sperm concentration and motility analysis. Each video was initially fixed by the Speed Up Robust Features based matching technique. Then, Kalman Filter was employed for sperm tracking. After tracking step, trajectories have been divided into 3 s length to prevent possible incorrect assignments due to sudden changes in sperm motions. In the experimental tests, we combined all trajectories obtained from a total of 18 videos of 6 different subjects. We clustered a total of 89438 trajectories into 4 cluster as fast progressive, progressive, non-progressive and immotile according to extracted seven features. In order to compare the results, we also analyzed the same semen sample in another expert system, SQA-Vision. The difference was measured 3.4% and 4.8% in the determination of total and motile sperm concentration, and 2.1%, 7.4%, 5.3% for progressive, non-progressive and immotile movement type analysis respectively. The significance and impact of the proposed system are capability of reporting more detailed results in a variety of situations and having more advantages than any expert systems utilized for sperm analysis in terms of portability, cost and modularity. Additionally, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study reporting use of the smartphone in an expert system for the sperm analysis in terms of data acquisition and result reporting.

Poland’s PKN Orlen plans big expansion

PKN Orlen is investing in what it calls Europe’s largest petrochemical project in 20 years. The $3.7 billion project, in Płock, Poland, will include an ethylene cracker with 740,000 metric tons of capacity, as well as new units for ethylene oxide, ethylene glycol, and other derivatives. As part of the effort, PKN will mothball a 40-year-old ethylene cracker on the site. The company aims to complete the project early in 2024.

Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility (ECSR) on the Example of Polish Champion Oil, Gas and Mining Companies

The author uses empirical research to assess the environmental practices of the Polish champion oil, gas and mining companies to show that they are involved in Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility (ECSR). This paper investigates the tools such companies apply to implement the ECSR and the actions they undertake to reduce their environmental footprint. The community and environmental impact are inherent in the business activities of such companies. The author analyses the annual integrated reports published by Polish leading oil, gas and mining companies—PKN ORLEN, PGNiG and KGHM Polska Miedź—published in 2014–2019 in terms of environmental and climate responsibility. The ECSR initiatives undertaken by these companies are analyzed with regard to four categories: (1) water and wastewater management, (2) air emissions, (3) waste management and circular economy concept, and (4) energy management. All analyzed companies identify, supervise and monitor environmental issues, apply environmentally friendly technologies and techniques to reduce emissions to the environment and the amount of waste and wastewater, enable the effective use of natural resources in order to meet the new environmental challenges in the circular economy, and participate in R & D projects regarding new technologies.

Poland’s PKN Orlen plans ethylene expansion

Poland’s PKN Orlen plans ethylene expansion

PKN Orlen selects Honeywell processes for phenol project planned in Poland

PKN Orlen selects Honeywell processes for phenol project planned in Poland

Key aspects of logistics management in transnational Corporation on the example of PKN Orlen

Key aspects of logistics management in transnational Corporation on the example of PKN Orlen

The concept of intellectual capital and its measurement using the VAIC method on the example of PKN ORLEN

Purpose – The main purpose of the paper is to systematize the concept of intellectual capital of an enterprise, assess the effectiveness of the use of intellectual capital and analyze its impact on the added value.Research method – The paper uses the intellectual capital analysis method during the period 2009-2017 using the VAICTM intellectual added value factor and is based on data from financial statements. The basic statistical tool, which is the arithmetic mean was also used for the study.Results – The study showed that the intellectual capital of PKN Orlen is increasing as is the difference between the market and accounting values of the company. The main source of growth is human capital.Implications – The result of the study are conclusions in the form of practical recommendations for PKN Orlen in the area of intellectual capital development.

Determinants of demand for services offered at gas stations

This article describes factors that affect the demand for services offered at the gas stations in Poland. Main types of gas stations that operate within the country are listed and characterised. It is also determined which gas stations are the most popular among the customers and which services rendered are the most important for the consumers. To decide which facilities providing technical re-sources for automotive sector in terms of distribution of, among others, gasoline, diesel fuel and biofuels are best, major oil and gas corporations, i.e. PKN ORLEN, BP and Grupa LOTOS are analysed. The main criteria of assessment of these corporations is information that allows to compare the number of their gas stations, prices of liquid fuel and LP gas and additional services, i.e. fuel cards.

PKN Orlen in massive Polish expansion

Petrochemical maker and refiner PKN Orlen will spend $2.3 billion, a record amount for the Polish firm, to expand its petrochemical capacity by 30% at its plants in Plock and Wloclawek, Poland, over the next five years. The company says it will expand aromatic derivatives, phenol, and olefins. It will also invest in its R&D center. Orlen says the expansion will help Poland transition from being a net importer of chemicals to a net exporter.

Płynność finansowa jako istotne kryterium oceny przedsiębiorstwa

The article discusses financial liquidity considered as a leading indicator of company performance. Financial liquidity is a function of shaping the proper relationship of receipts to expenditure in the management process. Its essence, methods of determination and analysis are presented on the basis of the balance sheet and cash flow statement, showing liquidity ratios, their classification and interpretation. The survey of financial liquidity in Polish companies was based on the example of unit financial statements of PKN Orlen SA. for the years 2013–2016. Cash flow and static and dynamic liquidity ratios were analysed. Research methods include a review of the literature on reporting, liquidity and financial analysis, interpretation of related legislation, analysis of financial statements, and inference. The results confirm that liquidity, which ensures a company’s balance and stability, is today the most important parameter in assessing a company.

MEASUREMENT OF HUMAN CAPITAL AND MARKET VALUE OF LISTED COMPANIES

1.IntroductionMany companies recognize that the gap between the market value and the book value becomes more significant. The market value exceeds the book value, and the value of the capital invested in the company exceeds the costs of assets replacement. Only 20 years ago global companies had their market value at a level similar to the value of their countable assets, which corresponded to the Tobin's Q indicator of around 1 (Jarugowa and Fijalkowska, 2002). Currently in the leading companies, such as Microsoft, the Tobin's Q indicator is around 2, which means that 100% of the company's market value is made of uncountable assets that include, among others, the intellectual capital and related to the human capital [1]. Hence, the intellectual capital constitutes a significant element of the company's market value, and due to this its position should be calculated and presented as an indicator of the total value of a company. Information arising from the intellectual capital measurement can encourage investors to future investment and play a crucial role in forming the market value of a company.The author attempted to indicate the connection between the increasing market value of the largest companies and a need for measuring the intellectual and human capital. At the same time pointed out that there are still difficulties associated with the measurement of human capital. Regardless of these difficulties, more and more companies measure of human capital. Results of own research confirmed this and showed of measurement range in Polish listed companies. In order to obtain the data used indirect survey. Survey conducted in 50 Polish listed companies in the period September 2015-February 2016. The rest of the paper shows specific examples of using information regarding human capital to predict and create the company's market value.2.A gap between the market value and the book value of companies as a stimulus for the intellectual capital measurementTwo indicators are most often used to estimate the company's intellectual capital: indicator of relations between the market value and the book value MV/ BV and Tobin's Q indicator. Both of them give opportunity to estimate the intellectual capital of any company, to track changes in its value or to compare its value to the value of any other company. D. Appenzeller observed that those indicators have significant limitations for example the company's market value depends on many factors such as: financial condition, intellectual capital or a situation on the market. Thus, in bull market period, when share prices are rising, a high level of both indicators can be expected, and it does not have to be an evidence for high level of intellectual capital. While in a bear market periods, the company's market value - and as a result its intellectual capital - will be reduced (Appenzeller, 2009). Table 1 shows the market value and the assets value of the largest global companies in 2016. The discrepancy between the market value and book value is also noted by the Polish companies, e.g. LPP (5.4), CCC (7.8), PKN Orlen (1.5) [2]. Table 2 shows the market value and book value of the largest companies listed on Warsaw Stock Exchange.Despite a wide range of literature, there is still lack one definition of the intellectual capital term. According to L. Edvinsson the intellectual capital is a difference between the market value and the book value of an organization, in other words it is a sum of hidden assets, not included in the company's balance sheet (Edvinsson and Sullivan, 1996). The concept of L. Edvinsson shows two basic elements of the intellectual capital, that is human capital and structural capital. The human capital includes the knowledge, skills, experience, attitude (e.g. dedication, ability to learn, will to share the knowledge and ideas, etc.). The structural capital is an ability to support the employees' efficiency by the organisation. It includes the tools and systems assisting the transfer of knowledge (organizational capital) and relations with clients (client capital) (Mouritsen and Larsen, 2001). …

PKN Orlen to sell propylene to BOP JV from new metathesis unit in Poland

PKN Orlen to sell propylene to BOP JV from new metathesis unit in Poland

OWNERSHIP OF REFINERY BUSINESS IN CROATIA AND POLAND AS A FACTOR IMPACTING NATIONAL ENERGY SECURITY

The paper gives an analysis of changes in the refinery business ownership structure in two “new” EU members: Poland and Croatia, after their shift to market based economy. The key area of analysis refers to the state control over refinery assets as a tool of national energy security. Refinery sectors in both countries are presented focusing on their respective strengths and weaknesses. Changes in ownership structure of three major players: INA, LOTOS and PKN ORLEN are reviewed in order to establish how they affected sustainability and development of these entities. The paper takes into account not only the interests of Poland and Croatia, but also refers to Hungary, Czech Republic and Lithuania. The analysis was performed with regards to the general trends and expectations in the European refinery sector. Our conclusions indicate that state control over key refinery assets represent a valuable tool for energy policy and, in cases when lost, it has to be compensated by other measures. If refining capacity is left unchecked and uncontrolled energy security of the country is easily threatened. This situation often leads to an almost paradoxical situation where the energy security of individual EU member countries can easily be in conflict with the overall EU energy security policy and guidelines.