Unconventional: the word conjures up some mixed feelings. For the most part, any unusual energy developments have not attracted the interest of the world’s energy companies; however, recent oil and gas discoveries in Norway have seen Orlen strengthen its presence in the North Sea by agreeing to acquire a partial interest in the latest unconventional oil and gas deposits in the Viking nation.
What exactly constitutes an unconventional oil and gas discovery?
Unconventional oil and gas discoveries refer to hydrocarbon resources that are trapped in low-permeability rock formations. These unique rock formations require advanced extraction technologies, such as horizontal drilling, to be processed and transformed into the energy we all need for our everyday lives.
As nations around the world outline their upstream energy development plans for the years to come, Orlen has taken the initiative to expand its already impressive presence on the Norwegian continental shelf by acquiring an interest in the Afrodite discovery from Vår Energi.
The need to increase upstream energy production has become a call too loud to ignore, and Norway has one of the largest undiscovered energy reserves in the world. One might ask, how does a nation stuck in the middle of the ever-unpredictable European energy sector develop an unconventional oil and gas discovery? The answer is to develop new technologies that are a far cry from the traditional processes that have dominated the energy industry for decades.
Can Orlen develop the Aphrodite discovery into a labour of fertility for energy production?
Much like the name suggests, the Afrodite discovery in the North Sea requires a labour of love and pragmatic planning to extract the vast volumes of natural energy resources that the discovery has stored away. Orlen Upstream Norway, the company’s Norwegian affiliate, has agreed to acquire a 25% interest in production license PL293 in the Norwegian North Sea.
The APA 2025 licensing round provided the foundation for Orlen Upstream Norway
Following the APA 2025 licensing round, Orlen was offered the option to acquire interests in several new discoveries and developments in Norway. The Aphrodite gas discovery was made in 2008, but due to a difficult pressure and temperature environment, the discovery was not actively pursued until now. The time has come for the discovery to be assessed and developed to strengthen Orlen’s upstream production capacity.
During the aforementioned APA 2025 licensing round, Norway offered up 57 fresh licenses for interested parties, and Orlen has been operating in Norway for an exceedingly long time, enabling the company to develop a wide and expansionary portfolio of energy projects.
The license partners in the Afrodite discovery have now opted to drill an appraisal well to fully assess the feasibility of oil and gas production. Based on current estimates by the partners, recoverable energy resources from the development are approximately 7.5 billion cubic meters of gas, of which Orlen is entitled to 1.9 billion cubic meters under the new deal.
“By combining modern production techniques with our existing expertise, we believe we can unlock these resources together with our partners and contribute to a new phase of development in Norway’s upstream sector,” – Wiesław Prugar, ORLEN Management Board Member, Upstream
The new deal is consistent with Orlen’s 2035 strategy
Once the deal has passed muster with the Norwegian regulator, Orlen will have effectively increased its presence in the Norwegian energy sector. Under the Orlen 2035 strategy, the company has identified Norwegian fields as a major growth development, with Orlen estimating that the region could deliver up to 12 billion m³ of natural gas every year by the end of the decade. Outside of Norway, Orlen has boosted its upstream production through several fields that have begun full-scale operations and have delivered first oil.
