PGNiG Upstream Norway of ORLEN Group has bought an additional 19.5 per cent stake in the Eirin gas field from Equinor Energy. As a result of the transaction, the volume of gas that ORLEN Group will produce from the field will almost double, to over 1.5 billion cubic metres (bcm)
The purchase will provide PGNiG Upstream Norway with a total of 41.3 per cent share in the Eirin field enabling further increase of equity natural gas production as well as optimization of the company’s operations on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Drilling on Eirin is scheduled to start in the third quarter of this year and production is expected to start in the second half of 2025. Two production wells will be drilled in the field, from which gas will be delivered with a subsea pipeline to the platform at the Gina Krog field, in which ORLEN Group also holds a 41.3 per cent stake. Equalising the Group’s stakes in Gina Krog and Eirin will help to optimise the costs of joint managing these fields.
“While pursuing our upstream aspirations, we are also taking steps to ensure the highest possible efficiency of our investments to maximize shareholder value,” said Ireneusz Fąfara, President of the Management Board of ORLEN. “Eirin is a mature project that will start production next year. Production will be carried out using the already existing infrastructure at our nearby Gina Krog field. This will reduce Eirin’s development time and operational costs while reducing the CO2 intensity associated with our production.”
The Gina Krog platform has been recently electrified which means that is powered with almost 100 per cent renewable energy generated onshore. As a result, the carbon intensity of production on the platform is very low, amounting this year to around 0.7 kilograms of CO2 per barrel of oil equivalent while the average for the Norwegian Continental Shelf is about 8 kilograms per barrel. The tie-in of Eirin to Gina Krog may allow the platform to further reduce its carbon intensity thanks to increasing the volume of hydrocarbons processed while keeping the total absolute emissions at a comparable level.
“The Eirin and Gina Krog fields belong to the Sleipner production area, which is one of ORLEN’s main production hubs on the Norwegian Continental Shelf,” commented Wiesław Prugar, Member of the ORLEN Management Board, Upstream. “This hub currently accounts for approximately one-third of the company’s total hydrocarbons production in Norway. The development of Eirin will enable a more efficient use of the Sleipner area infrastructure, extending the operational life of its assets.”
PGNiG Upstream Norway and Equinor Energy sales and purchase agreement is subject to approval from the Norwegian Ministry of Energy. Upon completion of the transaction, PGNiG Upstream Norway’s total interest in Eirin will increase to 41.3 per cent. The remainder will be held by Equinor Energy, which is also the operator. The field’s reserves amount to approximately 27 million barrels of oil equivalent, of which more than 85 per cent is natural gas.