ORLEN Group has started the expansion of the Underground Gas Storage Facility in Wierzchowice. This is the largest investment in domestic gas storage facilities in history. Once completed, the capacity of the facility will increase by 60 %, to 2.1 billion cubic metres. As a result, Wierzchowice will provide about half of the country’s storage capacity. The expansion will really strengthen the security of gas supplies to Polish consumers.

“We are investing to guarantee uninterrupted gas supplies to Polish families and businesses. Thanks to the expansion of the storage facility in Wierzchowice, the total capacity of domestic gas storage will increase by as much as 25 % and will exceed 4 billion cubic metres. This is as much as all households in Poland use for about 10 months”, said Daniel Obajtek, President of the ORLEN Management Board.

In the opinion of ORLEN’s president, with such a reserve, Poland will be better prepared in the case of possible interruptions in foreign supplies or a surge in demand during severe frosts.

As a result of the expansion, the active capacity of the Wierzchowice Underground Gas Storage Facility (the largest underground gas storage facility in Poland) will increase by 800 million cubic metres from the current 1.3 billion cubic metres to 2.1 billion cubic metres. This means an increase in the capacity of the national storage system by as much as a quarter. Moreover, the injection capacity of the gas into the facility will increase by a third – to 19.2 million cubic metres per day – and the withdrawal capacity will be increased by 66 % to 24 million cubic metres per day. The investment is scheduled for its completion at the turn of 2025 and 2026.

The Wierzchowice Underground Gas Storage Facility is the largest facility of its kind in Poland, using a former natural gas deposit as storage capacity. It is located in the Lower Silesian Voivodship, in the communes of Milicz and Krośnice. The main task of the storage facility is the injection and withdrawal of high-methane natural gas. In the process of exploitation, natural gas is injected into the Wierzchowice reservoir in summer, while in winter it is withdrawn and directed for heating purposes in households and industry.

Adrian Andrzejewski