The daily, referring to comments by the company's deputy chief executive, Slawomir Hinc, also said that PGNiG, 72.4 percent owned by the state treasury, wants to earmark some 1.1 billion on investment this year alone.

Earlier the company said it was planning 27 billion zlotys in capital expenditure by 2015, focusing on gas exploration, investment in the power sector, gas distribution and storage.

In January, PGNiG signed a letter of intent with top utilities PGE PGEP.WA and Tauron TPE.WA, as well as copper miner KGHM KGHM.WA, on co-operation in shale gas exploration.

The state-controlled group holds a 12 percent stake in the Skarv concession in Norway operated by BP (BP.L) and develops its own crude oil project LMG in Poland. It also plans to drill for shale gas in its 15 licenses in Poland.

The group also plans to build a combined heat and power plant in Stalowa Wola together with Tauron and develop a gas-fired power station in Warsaw at a site taken over in 2011 from Sweden's Vattenfall VATN.UL.

($1 = 3.4930 Polish zlotys)

(Reporting By Karolina Slowikowska)

• A Permanent Economic Emergency