Poland’s oil and gas company PKN Orlen reported a more than twofold increase in natural gas production from Norwegian deposits in 2022. Orlen increased production to the level of 7.7 billion cubic meters of gas from domestic and foreign deposits. This result is roughly equivalent to 45 percent of Poland’s yearly demand for natural gas, which was around 16.62 billion cubic meters in 2022, according to data from the Climate Ministry.
The largest contribution to this was made by PGNiG, a subsidiary of the Orlen Group that specializes in gas production. PGNiG joined the Orlen Group in November 2022, and the combined production of both companies in the previous year was 6.87 billion cubic meters, up about 30 percent from 2021, when it reached a level of 5.25 billion cubic meters.
The majority of this growth is mainly due to extraction from deposits located on the Norwegian shelf; PGNiG regularly bought concessions to exploit these.
Norwegian natural gas production reached 3.15 billion cubic meters in 2022 alone, a 100 percent increase compared to 2021, when production was at a level of 1.42 billion cubic meters.
The Norwegian continental shelf is a key element in increasing the amount of natural gas extracted by Orlen. Currently, the Polish company holds 98 concessions for extraction on 17 deposits. Over the next three years, further growth in gas production in Norway is forecasted to be about 4 billion cubic meters per year, and by 2030, this could soar to about 6 billion cubic meters per year.
Another key element of gas extraction on the Norwegian shelf is the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline. It is the main transmission infrastructure for gas from Norway. Half of the gas transmitted, estimated at 6.5 billion cubic meters, is to come from Polish natural gas production form the Norwegian shelf deposits.
Poland’s domestic production in 2022 amounted to 3.43 billion cubic meters, a slight decline compared to 2021’s result of 3.51 billion cubic meters. However, the extraction process has been slowed down by investment roadblocks, including the coronavirus pandemic, for PGNiG, which is responsible for domestic gas production within the Orlen Group.
The Orlen Group is currently conducting operations to search for and extract hydrocarbons in several countries around the world. In addition to Poland and Norway, the countries where the company operates include Canada, Pakistan and Lithuania.
Orlen’s natural gas output for Norway is 84,700 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOE/D), 80,700 BOE/D in Poland, 14,600 BOE/D in Canada, 5,200 BOE/D in Pakistan, and 400 BOE/D in Lithuania.
