Ocean Nomad has arrived in the Latvian zone of the Baltic Sea and has been moored in the area of a licence owned by Balin Energy, a joint venture of PKN ORLEN (through ORLEN International Exploration and Production Company B.V) and Kuwait Energy Company Netherlands Cooperatief. On Sunday, contractor Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. commenced the drilling of the first exploration well.

On May 10th the semi-submersible drilling platform 'Ocean Nomad' was towed to the site of planned operations in the Latvian economic zone of the Baltic Sea. Platforms of this type meet the most stringent safety requirements and are most commonly used for deep-water drilling, including in the North Sea.
The drilling takes place 132 metres below sea level and will continue for approximately 40 days. The well will be drilled to a total depth of 1,500 metres below sea level, 104 kilometres off the west coast of Latvia. The two licence blocks, which are covered by thirty-year exploration licences within the Latvian waters near the country's Swedish border, span a total area of 1,664 square kilometres.

” Gas and oil exploration and production is one of the pillars of PKN ORLEN Strategy, published last year. I am pleased that in line with conducting exploration works on licences in Poland, we commenced the drilling phase of the Baltic Project, which opens new opportunities in upstream operation,” said Jacek Krawiec, President of the PKN ORLEN Management Board.

”We are pleased to announce the arrival of the Ocean Nomad rig and the start of drilling in offshore Latvia. This drilling activity will enable Balin Energy to learn more about the area and to ascertain whether commercially recoverable levels of hydrocarbons are present,” commented Sara Akbar, Chief Executive Officer of Kuwait Energy.

So far Balin Energy has acquired and interpreted over 300 square kilometres of 3D seismic, and has performed a thorough survey of the sea bed and analysed the quality of the environmental parameters. The results helped determine the target location of the drilling equipment and prompted the decision to start drilling. The work are carried out by a subsidiary of Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. under the supervision of a consultancy, Senergy. There is evidence of commercially recoverable oil and gas deposits in the Baltic Sea basin in the proximity of producing fields, both onshore and offshore, including in the Latvian town of Kuldīga.

About Balin Energy, SIA
Balin Energy is a 50/50 joint venture of ORLEN International Exploration and Production Company B.V. (a PKN ORLEN subsidiary) and Kuwait Energy Company Netherlands Cooperatief U.A.
Balin holds two licences (Block 1/2008 and Block 1/2009) covering an area of 1,664 square kilometres off the coast of Latvia, within the Baltic basin in the Liepajya-Saldus high. The operator under both licences is Kuwait Energy.
Balin has a 90% working interest on both licences, with the remaining 10% owned by the Latvian state.

About Kuwait Energy Company Netherlands Cooperatief U.A.
Kuwait Energy Company Netherlands Cooperatief U.A. is a subsidiary of Kuwait Energy Company, Kuwait's largest independent oil producer.
Kuwait Energy explores for and produces oil and gas in the Middle East.
Kuwait Energy has been profitable since its inception in 2005 and is currently present in Egypt, Iraq, Yemen, Oman, Ukraine, Latvia, Russia and Pakistan.
At the end of 2011, Kuwait Energy held working interests in proved and probable reserves of 235.3 million boe, and the company's current production is approximately 17,970 boe/d.

About ORLEN International Exploration and Production Company B.V
ORLEN International Exploration and Production Company B.V is a subsidiary of PKN ORLEN S.A., Central and Eastern Europe's leading oil company and the owner of the region's largest petrol station chain (http://www.orlen.pl/)
PKN ORLEN is the largest CEE company by revenue. It owns seven refineries in Poland, Czech Republic and Lithuania with a total annual throughput capacity of 30 million tonnes. It operates an extensive retail chain of 2,700 petrol stations in Poland, Germany, Czech Republic and Lithuania. The company is also present in the petrochemical sector.
PKN ORLEN holds ten exploration licences (including for unconventional oil and gas) from the Polish Ministry of the Environment. In order to implement its upstream strategy, PKN ORLEN S.A. has established a dedicated subsidiary, ORLEN Upstream (http://www.orlenupstream.pl/EN/).

About Diamond Offshore
Diamond Offshore is a subsidiary of Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc., a company controlled by Loews Corporation.
Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc., a leader in deep-water drilling, operates one of the world’s largest fleets of offshore drilling units, including 32 semi-submersibles, 13 jack-ups and four dynamically positioned drillships.
Diamond Offshore has had over 40 years of experience in drilling projects delivered worldwide. Its personnel work to improve their skills in the most challenging environments, including the North Sea, the Gulf of Alaska, the Strait of Magellan, the South China Sea, and the Bass Strait.