Warka gas discovery : PGNiG Upstream Norway has claimed to have made a large gas discovery in the Norwegian Sea through the drilling of a wildcat well 6507/4-1 on the Warka prospect in license PL1009.

According to the company, the exploration well is located in an area where it has been carrying out hydrocarbon exploration and production activities for several years.

Preliminary estimates of the Warka gas discovery are between 8 bcm and 30 bcm of natural gas and condensate. The gas discovery has been made southwest of the Skarv field.

PGNiG Upstream Norway identified the Warka prospect first in 2015 and following a joint evaluation with ConocoPhillips, applied for the PL1009 license in APA 2018, including a firm well commitment.

PL1009 was awarded to the companies in 2019 and the prospect was approved for drilling this year, followed by the drilling operations which began in August 2020.

Currently, PGNiG Upstream Norway has a 35% stake in the license with ConocoPhillips being the operator with the remaining stake of 65%.

The companies will work together to get a full understanding of the results of the well while chalking out an appraisal campaign.

Commenting on the Warka gas discovery, Paweł Majewski – President of the PGNiG Management Board said: ‘We consider the Warka discovery as extremely important for the strategic expansion of our gas production operations on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.

“We seek to ensure that the largest possible volumes of our own gas are brought from Norway to Poland via the Baltic Pipe. The new gas discovery takes us a step closer to achieving that goal.”

Location of the Warka gas discovery

Located south-west of the Skarv and Ærfugl fields, the Warka gas discovery is contained in the central part of the Norwegian Sea, nearly 240 km north-west of the Norwegian coast. It is contained in a water depth of nearly 400 m.

The 6507/4-1 exploration well, which discovered the Warka gas field, was drilled to a depth of 4,985m below the sea level using the Leiv Eiriksson drilling rig.

In 2019, PGNiG Upstream Norway made the Shrek oil and gas discovery in license PL838. The field is being prepared for development using the production infrastructure at the Skarv field.

  ConocoPhillips, Norwegian Continental Shelf, Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, Norwegian Sea, Paweł Majewski, PGNiG, PGNiG Upstream Norway, PL1009, Skarv field