Petrolinvest halves 2008 extraction target-paper

WARSAW, July 11 (Reuters) - Polish oil company Petrolinvest PROL.WA nearly halved this year's oil extraction target due to delays in drilling operations, its chief executive was quoted as saying on Friday.

Pawel Gricuk told Parkiet daily the company will be able to extract 2,000-3,000 barrels of oil daily by the year end, down from 5,600 promised earlier.

"We are drilling a bit slower than we had originally anticipated. It is a result of a slowdown of the investment plan," Gricuk said.

The prior target could be reached in mid-2009, Gricuk said.

Petrolinvest, controlled by Polish tycoon Ryszard Krauze, is searching for oil in a series of potentially lucrative Kazakh oil fields. It is awaiting the completion of a deal to expand its presence in Kazakhstan.

Despite record-high oil prices exceeding $140 per barrel Petrolinvest shares have lost over 43 percent since beginning of 2008 and closed on Thursday at 185.00 zltoys. (Writing by Patryk Wasilewski; Editing by Quentin Bryar)