ORLEN Upstream Norway, together with its licence partners, has made a final investment decision on the development of the Cerisa field in the Norwegian North Sea. Production is scheduled to begin in 2027. According to the company, the project is expected to provide the ORLEN Group with approximately 8.5 million barrels of oil equivalent, including around 0.8 billion cubic metres of natural gas.
The Cerisa field was discovered in June 2024 in licence area PL636, located approximately 120 kilometres north of Bergen. The licence operator is Vår Energi. ORLEN Upstream Norway, Inpex Idemitsu Norge and DNO Norge also hold interests in the project.
ORLEN Upstream Norway, Vår Energi and Inpex Idemitsu Norge each hold a 30% stake in the Cerisa field, while the remaining 10% is held by DNO Norge.
Production to begin in 2027
At peak output, ORLEN Upstream Norway’s share of production from Cerisa is expected to reach around 6,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. According to the company, this would be equivalent to nearly 6% of its daily production in 2025.
The development plan involves drilling two production wells. They will be connected to an existing subsea foundation structure, known as a template, which is already used in the development of the neighbouring Duva field. This approach is expected to reduce the scale of new infrastructure investment, shorten the project timetable and lower costs.
“Cerisa demonstrates ORLEN’s effectiveness at every stage of exploration and production activity. Only two years will have passed between the discovery of the field and the preparation of its development plan, while production will begin less than two years later,” said Wiesław Prugar, Member of the ORLEN Management Board responsible for Upstream.
“The efficiency with which we are delivering this process is not only the result of very strong cooperation with our licence partners. It is also proof of our ability to use synergies between the assets we hold.”
Wells extending up to seven kilometres
Launching production will require technically advanced wells extending up to seven kilometres in length. ORLEN notes that projects of this type are possible thanks to technological progress in the exploration and production sector, as well as the growing expertise of operators active on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
Access to the existing Duva infrastructure is expected to benefit more than just Cerisa. Integrating additional resources into a shared production system may also improve the efficiency of the already operating asset.
Cerisa will be developed as part of the Gjøa Subsea Project. This project also includes two other discoveries: Ofelia and Gjøa Nord. ORLEN does not hold interests in those fields, but their joint development alongside Cerisa is expected to create economies of scale and reduce unit production costs.
Further ORLEN projects in Norway
The decision on Cerisa forms part of the development of ORLEN’s production portfolio in the North Sea. In May 2026, Norway’s Ministry of Energy approved development plans for three other fields in which ORLEN is a partner: Albuskjell, Vest Ekofisk and Tommeliten Gamma.
According to company data, these assets are expected to provide the group with approximately 23 million barrels of oil equivalent, including around 3 billion cubic metres of natural gas. Production is scheduled to begin in 2028.
The expansion of ORLEN’s upstream projects in Norway is important both commercially and strategically. Natural gas production on the Norwegian Continental Shelf is one of the sources of supply used by the ORLEN Group and strengthens the diversification of gas deliveries to Poland and the wider Central European region.
