Stockholm  - Swedish state-owned energy group Vattenfall on Wednesday said it is buying an 18.7-per-cent stake in Polish energy company ENEA S. A. for 4.5 billion kronor (584 million dollars).

ENEA is one of four state-owned energy groups in Poland and accounts for some 8 per cent of the country's energy production, the Vattenfall statement said.

Vattenfall chief executive Lars G Josefsson noted that ENEA's energy production is mainly coal-based. He said this would present an opportunity for Vattenfall to gain from the group's knowledge of CCS, or carbon capture and storage, technology.

Josefsson last week presented Vattenfall's "best third quarter ever," noting a 17-per-cent increase on turnover and net profit.

He also said at the time that, "Poland is one of the countries where we see potential for growth." (dpa)