Polskie Górnictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo SA has added two new caverns to its underground gas storage facility in Kosakowo, northern Poland, and drilled five boreholes to build further caverns.
The two new caverns will have an aggregate working capacity of 57.8 mcm, 13% above the originally planned 51.2 mcm. The caverns have been handed over for trial operation to determine the operating parameters and profiles of the constructed storage facility. This substantial increase in working capacity, achieved through the construction of larger salt caverns, was possible thanks to the favourable geological conditions in the Mechelinki bedded salt deposit.
With the new caverns added and once the geomechanical and thermodynamic conditions have stabilised, the Kosakowo facility will comprise a total of four caverns with an aggregate capacity of 119 mcm. The final acceptance of the new caverns took place on December 22nd 2014.

The caverns placed in operation, K-2 and K-3, are part of an EU co-funded project, which is scheduled for completion in 2015.

Furthermore, in December 2014 five boreholes drilled into salt deposits were handed over by PGNiG to OSM Sp. z o.o., the storage cavern contractor, for building further caverns. The drilling work was carried out by Exalo Drilling of the PGNiG Group.

Further work on the site will involve completion of the EU co-funded project comprising development of four caverns in 2015, to achieve a working capacity of at least 100 mcm, completion in 2021 of clusters A and B comprising 10 caverns, to achieve a working capacity of at least 250 mcm, and development of clusters C and D, which are currently in the design phase. The caverns will be placed in operation as they are completed, and the new storage capacity will be available for third party access.

Given the favourable geological conditions of the Mechelinki bedded salt deposit, PGNiG SA estimates that a working gas capacity of ca. 300 mcm can be achieved by 2021. Subsequently, once clusters C and D are completed, the working gas capacity of the Kosakowo gas storage
facility will have reached ca. 600 mcm.

The site will improve gas transmission in the Pomerania region, in particular by ensuring the continuity of supplies and facilitating the connection of new users to the gas supply network.
The gas injection capacity will be 100,000 m3/h, with the withdrawal capacity at 400,000 m3/h.

About PGNIG

The PGNiG Group is the leader of the Polish natural gas market, as well as the only vertically integrated gas company in Poland. Its parent undertaking is Polskie Górnictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo. Formation of the Group's enabled coordination of the upstream and downstream operations - from exploration and production to storage to trade and distribution of gaseous fuels. The roots of the companies forming PGNiG date back to 19th century - to the beginnings of Polish and world oil industry. The company has been operating under the name PGNiG since 1982. In 1996, the state-owned company PGNiG was transformed into a joint stock company.