The Polish oil and gas company, Polskie Górnictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo (PGNiG), has discovered new resources of natural gas with a total volume of approx. 600 million cubic meters (mcm) in the Średzki and Kościan regions of Wielkopolskia (Greater Poland) voivodeship. The announcement was made earlier today (27 October).
The discovery of the new gas deposits is the result of PGNiG’s work in the Nowe Miasto nad Wartą (Środa district) and the Czempiń (Kościan district) communes. The resources are located in the geological formations of the red footwell, which for several years has been one of the main areas of the company’s exploration activities in western Poland.
PGNiG estimates that the process of developing the new fields, after which their production will commence, will take approximately 3 years. Total production is to reach approx. 20 mcm annually. The discovered resources contain nitrogen-rich gas with a high methane content of over 75 per cent.
“Two new deposits, discovered by PGNiG in Greater Poland, are an additional guarantee of the security of supplies for our customers. The events of the last year have clearly shown how important the role of own gas extraction can be played in securing the country’s energy needs. PGNiG employees have the knowledge, competences and experience to take full advantage of this potential”, said Iwona Waksmundzka-Olejniczak, President of the Management Board of PGNiG SA.
President Waksmundzka-Olejniczak highlighted that the exploration and production activities of the new business concern – which will soon be established with the merger of PGNiG with Poland’s biggest energy company PKN Orlen – will be based primarily on the expertise of PGNiG’s specialists. Both companies are already cooperating in this field, an example of which is one of the discovered deposits.
PGNiG and ORLEN Upstream began drilling in Rogusko in the Nowe Miasto nad Wartą commune in July 2022. The Rogusko-1K directional exploration well has a total length of 3,170 meters. The discovery was made in Upper Red Floor Aeolian Sandstones, which are characterised by very good reservoir properties. These formations are highly prospective in terms of the occurrence of industrial accumulation of natural gas within them. This is evidenced by the deposits discovered in the area in recent years.
The second field, located in the Czempiń commune, was discovered by the Roszkowo-1 exploration well, the drilling of which was started by PGNiG in August 2022. The borehole, located in Piotrowo Drugie, reached a depth of 2,800 m. The results of 3D seismic surveys were used to design it. The Roszkowo field is the fourth natural gas field discovered in this part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship. In recent years, the Borowo (2018), Szczepowice (2019) and Granówko (2019) fields have been documented in the Kościan-Śrem concession area.
