Equinor, ORLEN partner to develop Atlantis oil and gas discovery offshore Norway
(WO) – ORLEN Group announced will become a license partner in the Atlantis oil and gas field, one of the five largest offshore discoveries made on the Norwegian Continental Shelf in the last 10 years. As a result of a sales and purchase agreement signed with Source Energy, PGNiG Upstream Norway will obtain 20% stake in the Atlantis field in the North Sea.
By acquiring the equity in Atlantis, ORLEN Group is looking to maintain long term stability and high volumes of its gas production in Norway, which will be delivered to Poland via the Baltic Pipe.
The acquisition of a stake in the Atlantis field will provide PGNiG Upstream Norway of the ORLEN Group with 13 MMboe, including 1.5 Bcmg – according to the data published by the Norwegian Ministry of Energy. The license partners plan to develop Atlantis over the next few years.
The Atlantis field was discovered in 2020. Its total recoverable reserves are estimated at 65 Mmboe, with upside potential. This puts Atlantis among the largest offshore discoveries made on the Norwegian Continental Shelf in the last decade.
Once the transaction is completed, PGNiG Upstream Norway will have 20% stake of the field, with the remainder being held by Equinor, which is also the license operator.
The license partners are considering several options to develop Atlantis, including a subsea tieback to the platform at the Kvitebjørn field (in which PGNiG Upstream Norway holds 6.45 percent stake and Equinor is the operator) or to the Oseberg field platform (which is also operated by Equinor).
Developing Atlantis with existing infrastructure will limit the costs of production launch and reduce the CO2 intensity of its operation.
The area around Atlantis is currently under active exploration. If further discoveries are made, they might be incorporated into Atlantis’ development concept, hence improving operational and financial efficiency of the asset.
“ORLEN Group’s investment in the Atlantis field represents our consistent strategic effort to secure natural gas supplies to the Polish gas system. This is a project with above-average economic efficiency. Further diversification of our project portfolio in Norway provides a strong and stable basis for ORLEN's upstream business,” said Ireneusz Fąfara, CEO of ORLEN.
