Larger gas resources near Trzebiatów
The Trzebusz field in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, owned by the Orlen Group, has discovered 700 million cubic meters of recoverable natural gas, the company announced on Wednesday. This brings the total recoverable gas reserves in the region to 2.3 billion cubic meters.
The discovery of new natural gas resources in the Trzebusz deposit, in the Trzebiatów commune, is the result of cooperation between Orlen Group companies operating in the upstream segment. Seismic surveys and analysis of the results were conducted by Geofizyka Toruń. The exploration well was drilled by Exalo Drilling, Orlen announced.
Work conducted on the Trzebusz field, Orlen announced on Wednesday, has revealed 700 million cubic meters more recoverable natural gas resources than previously estimated. "This has increased the total recoverable natural gas resources in this region to 2.3 billion cubic meters," the company said. It also emphasized that its upstream activities are consistent with Orlen's strategy to develop domestic gas production, which is an essential fuel for the energy transition and a key raw material for industry.
"At Orlen, we have set ourselves a very ambitious goal - by 2030, we want to increase annual gas production from domestic deposits to 4 billion cubic meters. This requires investments that are important for the energy transformation, the availability of a raw material essential for many industries, and also for Poland's energy security," said Wiesław Prugar, who is responsible for the upstream segment on the company's management board.
He also noted that, in order to achieve its strategic goal of increasing production, Orlen has focused on fields located near those it already operates, which allows it to utilize existing infrastructure and reduce costs. "Also, attractive opportunities are offered by already developed fields, where, thanks to the use of new technical solutions and additional drilling, we are able to extract additional oil and gas resources that were previously beyond our reach," Prugar added, as quoted in the press release.
Orlen announced that, following approval of the project by the Ministry of Climate and Environment, it plans to drill further in Poland's coastal region. The company's preliminary estimates, based on its current knowledge of the area's geology, suggest that this work could increase available natural gas reserves from the current 2.3 billion cubic meters to as much as 5 billion cubic meters.
The company recalled that one of the priorities of its strategy is to increase total natural gas production from domestic and foreign fields to 12 billion cubic meters per year in 2030, including from domestic fields to 4 billion cubic meters. In 2024, production from domestic fields amounted to approximately 3.3 billion cubic meters of gas.
"The implementation of the strategy will be supported by, among other things, the integration of domestic assets into Orlen Upstream Polska, which will increase the efficiency of resource management and enable further optimization of deposit development programs," Orlen emphasized. He noted that the company holds a total of 223 licenses in Poland related to the exploration and production of hydrocarbons.
According to Orlen, in recent years its own natural gas production in Poland has covered approximately 20% of the country's natural gas demand. The company emphasized that further investments in gas extraction strengthen energy security and support the development of local communities.
Orlen reminded the public that hydrocarbon extraction is associated with a so-called exploitation fee, which depends on production volume. This fee is divided between municipalities (60%), counties and voivodeships (15%), where the deposit is located, and the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (10%). The company assessed that "these are important revenues for local governments, contributing to their budgets throughout the period of hydrocarbon extraction in their territories," allowing local authorities to plan more social projects and investments important to residents.
Orlen and its subsidiaries are a multi-energy corporation with refineries in Poland, the Czech Republic, and Lithuania, as well as a network of automotive fuel stations, including in Germany, Slovakia, Hungary, and Austria. It is also developing oil and gas extraction, petrochemicals, and energy sectors, including renewable energy sources. It also plans to develop nuclear energy based on small, modular reactors (SMRs).
Kurier Szczecinski
