In 2024, ORLEN Upstream Norway conducted six exploratory and appraisal drillings, four more than the previous year. As a result, the company discovered or confirmed oil, gas, and condensate resources estimated at 66-129 million barrels of oil equivalent, including 11.0-22.3 million allocated to ORLEN. Among this year’s successes is Cerisa – the third largest deposit discovered this year on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
ORLEN Upstream Norway just completed exploration drilling at the Sabina deposit located in the Norwegian Sea, about 270 km north of Kristiansund. The company, together with concession partners: Harbour Energy, Aker BP and Petoro, successfully carried out an exploratory drilling of 4,111 meters, confirming the existence of resources amounting to 17-39 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe), of which ORLEN receives between 2.0 and 4.7 million boe due to its share in the concession.
Earlier, at the start of 2024, ORLEN Upstream Norway conducted exploration drilling at the Adriana deposit, located in the same area as Sabina but in shallower geological structures. This drilling also ended successfully and confirmed resources of natural gas and condensate amounting to 28-43 million boe, providing ORLEN with an additional 3.3-5.1 million boe.
“The success of exploratory drilling at the Adriana and Sabina deposits strengthens ORLEN’s position on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, which is key for our exploration and production activities. Thanks to a stable regulatory environment, good cooperation with concession partners, and constantly developing skills, we can use our presence on the Shelf to effectively build the value of the ORLEN Group,” says Ireneusz Fąfara, President of the Management Board of ORLEN.
Although decisions on how to develop Adriana and Sabina have not yet been made, partners are considering connecting these deposits to the Skarv area infrastructure. This is one of ORLEN’s production hubs on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, where the company already operates several deposits and is preparing to launch others.
“Conducting exploration near already exploited deposits is one of the pillars of ORLEN Group’s exploration strategy on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. This allows us to capitalize on the knowledge of the geology of a given area to increase the chance of discovering new resources. We can also use existing production infrastructure to accelerate production while simultaneously reducing investment costs,” says Wiesław Prugar, Board Member responsible for production at ORLEN.
An example of the benefits resulting from ORLEN’s adopted exploration strategy is the rapid initiation of production from the Trell Nord prospect, whose resources, discovered this year, have already been included in production. This took place while developing the nearby Tyrving deposit belonging to ORLEN, Petoro, and Aker BP, which was launched in September 2024. The fast pace of production initiation, as seen in the case of Trell Nord, is not standard. Tyrving itself had to wait considerably longer before commencing production, as it was already discovered in 1973.
Another success for ORLEN Upstream Norway in 2024 is the discovery of the Cerisa deposit which will provide the company with an additional 5.4-11.7 million boe of oil and gas. The total resources of the deposit are estimated at 18-39 million boe, making it the third-largest discovery on the Norwegian Continental Shelf this year (as of December 9). The deposit is located in the PL636 concession, where ORLEN Upstream Norway has a 30% share, while the rest belongs to Vår Energi, INPEX Idemitsu Norge, and Sval Energi. Cerisa is located just 5 km from the Duva deposit, where the ORLEN group also holds a 30% share. Connecting Cerisa to the Duva extraction facility will allow us to reduce costs and shorten the development period for the discovery. It will also extend the operation period of this area and increase the utilization rate of its resources, providing additional operational and financial benefits for ORLEN.
Next year, ORLEN Upstream Norway plans to drill seven exploration and appraisal wells. Work will be carried out, among other things, within the Skarv and Sleipner production hubs and in the Yggdrasil area.
Source: https://managerplus.pl/orlen-udany-rok-na-norweskim-szelfie-kontynentalnym-z-rekordowymi-odwiertami-18230
