Lotos Group, Poland's second largest energy corporation, is preparing to start exploring for oil in the Norwegian Shelf with the help of Norwegian specialists. Henrik Carlsen was recently appointed to head the newly formed Lotos Exploration and Production Norge (LEPN) company. Carlsen is a former manager of Norway's Statoil corporation. Olav Fjell, who served as chairman of Statoil from 1999-2003, will be joining him on the board. Fjell oversaw the restructuring and partial privatization of Statoil during his tenure and was also charged with increasing extraction. The board of LEPN discussed the company's 2008 budget and its operational strategy for 2008-2012 at its first meeting, held Oct. 3. Two new members were appointed, including a geologist from Statoil. "We're not sure exactly how much oil we can extract from the Norwegian Shelf but we're looking at a target of around 2-3 million tons per year," says Paweł Olechnowicz, chairman of Lotos Group. By L.Ż, The Warsaw Voice