ORLEN Group-owned LOTOS Petrobaltic has equipped Poland’s first vessel with a drilling system that allows geological and engineering research at depths of up to 120 meters. 

The ORLEN Group will be able to carry out research on the seabed for the needs of wind power, both for its own projects and for external entities. 

The drilling rig installed on the Sylur vessel enables offshore geotechnical surveys of up to 120 meters in depth, as well as the drilling of boreholes under the seabed of up to 100 meters in depth. The device will enable LOTOS Petrobaltic to provide comprehensive geotechnical services to the offshore wind energy sector. Seabed surveys are among the most important stages in the design of a wind farm. Their results make it possible to precisely examine the structure of the seabed, which is needed when selecting the type of foundations on which wind turbines will ultimately stand.

The new drilling equipment will replace the drilling rig used previously and opens new, more advanced applications in the offshore wind sector. “The investment makes our Sylur vessel a unique vessel in the Baltic Sea region and fits into the broad plans for the development of offshore wind farms in Poland and the Baltic countries”, said Grzegorz Strzelczyk, CEO of LOTOS Petrobaltic.

After installation and sea trials of the new system, the Sylur vessel will be directed to work in the area planned for the future construction of Lithuania’s first offshore wind farm. LOTOS Petrobaltic is acting as a subcontractor to the consortium of Geobaltic and Garant Diving, which won the tender issued by the Lithuanian Ministry of Energy. Drilling on Lithuania’s Baltic Sea shelf is still scheduled for the first quarter of 2023.

Adrian Andrzejewski