PGNiG Upstream Norway, a Norwegian subsidiary of the Polish state-owned oil company PGNiG, has completed the acquisition of a 10 percent stake in the Duva field, located offshore Norway, from Pandion Energy.

PGNiG said last week that, following the transaction, interests in the PL636 and PL636B licenses which contain the Duva field increased to 30 percent.

As a result, the volume of Duva field gas production attributable to the company will rise to 0.2 bcm per year.

The remaining interest holders in the two licenses are Neptune Energy Norge as the operator, Idemitsu Petroleum Norge, and Sval Energi.

The Polish company has already entered the Duva field through an acquisition of a 20 percent stake from Wellesley Petroleum, which was completed in October 2019.

Pandion Energy agreed to divest its 20 percent share in the field through two transactions in November 2019. One of the transactions was with PGNiG and one with Solveig Gas, each acquiring a 10 percent share in the two licenses. The transaction with Solveig Gas was completed in late December 2019.

Jerzy Kwieciński, president of the PGNiG management board, said: “Acquisition of fields on the NCS is one of the investment priorities of the PGNiG Group.

“Our aim is to ensure that as much as possible of the gas that will flow from Norway to Poland following the launch of the Baltic Pipe will come from our own production. This is part of our strategy to diversify supplies and strengthen Poland's energy security.”

In a separate statement, Pandion confirmed on Monday that it had completed the Duva stake sale to PGNiG.

As for the Duva field, it was discovered in 2016. In June 2019, the Norwegian administration approved the plan for its development and operation. Production is expected to start at the end of 2020 or at the beginning of 2021.

Three production wells will be drilled in the field: two producing crude oil and one producing natural gas. The plan for development and operation also permits the drilling of an additional oil production well. The maximum annual output from the field is expected to reach approximately 30,000 boe in the initial period.

It is also worth noting that PGNiG currently holds interests in 29 licenses on the NCS. Already this year, the company has obtained three exploration licenses under the annual licensing round organized by the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. In the last three years, PGNiG increased its oil and gas reserves from 80 mboe to approximately 200 mboe.

The company already produces oil and gas from five fields, while investment and analytical work is underway on another six fields – Skogul, Ærfugl, Duva, Tommeliten Alpha, King Lear, and Shrek.
Another important event for the company in Norway was the successful drilling of the first well as an operator in autumn 2019. The license in question is the PL838 license.