Norway Awards Give Poland Gas Hopes

Polish integrated oil and gas company PGNiG  won three licences in Norway's record-breaking Awards in Pre-defined Areas, it said January 18. It will operate two of them and all are in the Norwegian Sea. Two of them have gas potential but it did not say which.

CEO Piotr Wozniak said the activities in Norway underpinned Poland's independence from Russian gas and the three licences "offer a big chance for large discoveries of natural gas deposits. It is worth emphasising that the awarded licences are based mainly on interesting and innovative exploration concepts developed at PGNiG, aimed mainly at exploring natural gas in – among others – the Cenozoic era formations, which have been recognised by the best oil companies and government institutions responsible for the development of the oil and gas industry in Norway."

PGNiG will operate PL838B licence with 40% equity with partners Aker BP and DEA  (both with 30%) and the PL1017 licence with 50% equity, partnering Equinor. It will have 35% of PL1009 which will be operated by US major ConocoPhillips as its only other partner.

”Norway is a predictable business partner. According to recent estimates by the Norwegian authorities, so far the country has produced less than half of its estimated oil and gas reserves from its shelf. This is a promising market where we achieve good results and robust rates of return on our investments. Gas from Norway will be produced for decades to come. We have been operating in that market for over 11 years, and we intend, as our western neighbours are already doing, to import gas from our own deposits through the gas pipeline, starting from 2022,” Wozniak said.