The Norwegian petroleum authority has issued formal approvals for PGNiG Upstream Norway to acquire interests in licences covering the Kvitebjørn and Valemon fields in the North Sea. Having brought up the number of licences in which the company holds interests to 32, the new acquisitions will contribute to a substantial increase in the PGNiG Group’s gas production volume on the Norwegian Continental Shelf already in 2021.
The interests in four licences covering the producing fields Kvitebjørn and Valemon were acquired by PGNiG Upstream Norway, a wholly-owned subsidiary of PGNiG SA, in September 2020 under an agreement with Norske Shell. Both newly acquired fields contain predominantly natural gas.
“We are beginning 2021 on a high note. Thanks to our experience and capabilities, we have been able to develop our operations on the Norwegian Continental Shelf despite the pandemic-related headwinds. As the approved acquisitions involve already producing fields, they will immediately translate into a significant rise of our gas output from Norwegian assets. We expect that in 2021 the volume of gas produced by PGNiG Upstream Norway will reach 0.9 bcm, almost double the level recorded in 2020,” said Paweł Majewski, President of the PGNiG Management Board.
PGNiG Upstream Norway estimates that the acquisitions will bring about a step increase in its average daily production of hydrocarbons (both oil and gas) of about 30%. The company’s gas production volume is forecast to reach 0.9 bcm in 2021, compared with approximately 0.5 bcm in 2020. According to estimates, in 2023–2028 (i.e. after the launch of the Baltic Pipe, which will link the Norwegian Continental Shelf with Poland via Denmark), the two fields will deliver approximately 0.2 bcm of gas annually to PGNiG Upstream Norway.
As regards the Kvitebjørn field, PGNiG Upstream Norway acquired a 6.45% interest, becoming a licence partner to Equinor (the operator), Petoro, Spirit Energy Norway and Total E&P Norge. The remaining recoverable reserves of the field, put on production back in 2004, have been estimated at approximately 184.3 mmboe.
In the case of the Valemon field, the interest acquired by PGNiG Upstream Norway is 3.225%. Producing since 2015, the field still contains approximately 29 mmboe of recoverable reserves. The licence is operated by Equinor, and the licence partners are PGNiG Upstream Norway and Petoro.
In addition, PGNiG Upstream Norway purchased a stake in the infrastructure used to transport hydrocarbons produced from these fields.
PGNiG Upstream Norway is already producing crude oil and natural gas from nine fields: Skarv, Morvin, Vale, Vilje, Gina Krog, Skogul and Ærfugl, Kvitebjørn and Valemon, while development and assessment work is under way on five more deposits: Duva, Tommeliten Alpha, King Lear, Ærfugl Outer and Shrek. The rapid pace of acquisitions made on the Norwegian Continental Shelf over the past four years has increased the PGNiG Group’s oil and gas reserves from approximately 80 to 208 mmboe.
About PGNiG
Polish Oil and Gas Company (PGNiG) deals with exploration and production of natural gas and crude oil and – through its branches and key companies from the Capital Group – with import, storage, sales, distribution of gaseous and liquid fuels, production of heat and electricity as well as geophysical and drilling services. Its subsidiaries and branches carry out exploration and production activities in Norway, Pakistan and UAE, gas sales in Germany and LNG trading through an office in London.