ORLEN Group will become a shareholder in one of the five largest deposits discovered on the Norwegian Continental Shelf in the past decade. Through an agreement with Source Energy, PGNiG Upstream Norway will acquire a 20 percent stake in the Atlantis field in the North Sea. This transaction will help the company maintain a stable and high level of natural gas production in Norway. The extracted raw material will be delivered to Polish customers via the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline.
The acquisition of a stake in Atlantis will provide PGNiG Upstream Norway from the ORLEN Group access to resources amounting to over 13 million barrels of oil equivalent, including approximately 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas, according to data from the Norwegian Ministry of Energy. The field requires development, which is planned for the coming years.
“ORLEN’s investment in the Atlantis field is a continuation of the company’s consistently implemented strategy to secure natural gas supplies for the national gas system. This is a project with above-average economic efficiency. Further diversification of our project portfolio in Norway provides a strong and stable foundation for the company’s extraction activities,” says Ireneusz Fąfara, President of the Management Board of ORLEN.
The Atlantis field was discovered in 2020. Its total resources are estimated at 65 million barrels of oil equivalent, although partners do not rule out that this amount may be higher. This places Atlantis among the largest discoveries made on the Norwegian Continental Shelf in the last decade.
The transaction still needs to be approved by the Norwegian Ministry of Energy. Upon approval, the second shareholder in Atlantis, alongside PGNiG Upstream Norway, will be Equinor, which is also the operator of this field.
The license shareholders are analyzing several options for developing the field’s resources, including using the Kvitebjørn field platform (in which PGNiG Upstream Norway has a 6.45 percent stake and Equinor is the operator) or through the Oseberg field platform (also operated by Equinor). Regardless of the chosen option, connecting Atlantis to the existing infrastructure will help reduce start-up costs and the CO2 emissions intensity associated with exploitation.
The area around Atlantis is the subject of active exploration. In the event of further discoveries, they may be included in the field development concept and contribute to further improving the operational and financial efficiency of the investment.
