Poland’s largest refinery, PKN Orlen, will try to get European Commission approval this year for the planned takeover of gas company PGNiG, CEO Daniel Obajtek said, according to Reuters.

Since 2018, when he was appointed to lead the state company PKN Orlen, Obajtek has informed that he is interested in taking over the smaller rival, Lotos, after acquiring the utility company Energa.

The state treasury is the largest shareholder of the three companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, holding 27.5% of Orlen, 53% of Lotos and 72% of PGNiG, according to Agerpres. “We are moving very fast, we are preparing a notification and we will submit it by the end of the year,” Obajtek told Reuters. He wants both transactions – Lotos and PGNiG – to be completed at the same time in about a year and a half from now.

The takeovers will strengthen PKN’s position among the most important European oil and gas companies, the company being present in new markets in Europe, including Estonia and Ukraine, but also outside the continent, Obajtek explained.

He added that the company does not intend to participate in the planned restructuring of the Polish coal industry. PKN will not increase and will not sell Energa’s stake in the state-owned company PGG, the PKN chief assured.