PKN Orlen has discovered 500 million cubic metres of natural gas in the Jastrzębiec field in the Lublin region. This increased the recoverable resources of the field to 700 million cubic metres. According to the company’s experts, they may be even higher, which is to be confirmed by further works performed on the field.

Domestic natural gas resources, along with supplies through the Baltic Pipe and the LNG Terminal in Świnoujście, are an important element of Poland’s energy security system. Subsequent discoveries of sources of raw material from domestic deposits will allow Orlen Group to maintain its own gas production in the coming years at a level close to 20 % of the annual demand for this fuel in Poland.

“Each cubic metre of natural gas from our own production is not only an additional guarantee of safety, but also additional financial revenues for the local governments where we exploit the resources. This is why Orlen will continue to invest in hydrocarbon exploration and production. The integration in a strong multinergy concern of companies operating in the upstream segment will allow us to intensify our activities in this area and create the potential to achieve even better results”, said PKN Orlen CEO Daniel Obajtek.

The confirmation of new natural gas resources is a result of drilling the Jastrzębiec-4 appraisal well, designed on the basis of the results of geological research carried out using 3D seismic imaging. The outcome of the well confirms the high prospectivity of this region of Poland and contributes to increasing domestic gas reserves and production.

Preliminary estimates indicate that the Jastrzębiec field contains natural gas resources of approximately 700 million cubic metres. Analysis of the Jastrzębiec 3D seismic image suggests that in reality the resources may be even higher. Reconnaissance work and analysis of data obtained during drilling and testing will provide detailed information on the abundance of the discovered field.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński