Poland's fuel firms Lotos and PKN Orlen as well as natural gas monopolist PGNiG are close to signing cooperation agreements with foreign firms in hydrocarbons exploration and extraction thanks to the expected introduction of the possibility to share licenses, the daily Dziennik Gazeta Prawna wrote.

PGNiG will likely cooperate with Canadian EnCana, which has been trying to enter the Polish market for months, and grant it access to its deposits in the Pomorskie or Lubelskie region, the daily wrote. An agreement between the two firms is expected to be signed yet this year.

Lotos will likely team up with a foreign firm with big experience (but not Italian ENI), for exploration and extraction at its conventional oil and gas deposits on the Baltic Sea next month, the daily reports.

As for PKN Orlen, Canadian Neken and American BNK Petroleum are the likely partners.

Firms will be able to share concessions only if they admit the to-be-created state power mineables operator NOKE, the daily wrote. A concession cannot be shared if its holder decides not to invite NOKE, deputy Economy Minister Piotr Wozniak said.