Polish energy company ORLEN Group announced on Friday (13 October) that it has commenced production from “Tommeliten A,” a field on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
The field is expected to provide the company with an additional 0.5 billion cubic metres of natural gas annually, which is to be delivered to Poland via the Baltic Pipe pipeline.
The production started nearly six months ahead of schedule, meaning that gas from Tommeliten A can already be used for this heating season, ORLEN confirmed in a press release.
“Tommeliten A stands as one of the ORLEN Group’s largest investment projects on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, not only due to the size of its resources but also because we are the largest interest holder in the field. The production start will result in a surge by an additional 0.5 billion cubic metres annually in the ORLEN Group’s gas output, bringing us closer to the strategic goal of doubling production in Norway to six billion cubic metres a year. The increase in production on the Norwegian Continental Shelf is one of the ORLEN Group’s priorities in order to ensure uninterrupted supplies of energy needed by the Polish economy,” said Daniel Obajtek, ORLEN’s CEO and President of the Management Board.
The ORLEN Group, via its subsidiary PGNiG Upstream Norway AS (PUN), holds a share of more than 42 per cent in Tommeliten A. The field’s reserves are estimated to range from 120 to 180 million barrels of oil equivalent, with the ORLEN Group holding a share of 50 to 76 million barrels of oil equivalent, including 6–9 billion cubic metres of gas.
“Thanks to excellent collaboration of our Norwegian company with the other interest holders, we were able to accelerate the production start by nearly six months. This is a great success, showcasing the Group’s competence in upstream projects and reinforcing Poland’s energy security,” Mr Obajtek added.
Tommeliten A is one of ORLEN’s nine investment projects initiated over the last two years to increase gas production on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. In 2022, the company delivered 3.5 billion cubic metres of natural gas from its Norwegian fields, accounting for over 20 per cent of last year’s gas demand in Poland.
