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New York Times
7 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Canadian Company Claims to Find Large Oil Reserves in Poland
The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 raised hopes for oil and gas exploration by Western companies in the former Soviet bloc in Europe, but a burst of drilling activity by companies like Chevron and Exxon Mobil in the 2010s produced mostly disappointment. Now, explorers from a small Canadian company say they have found in Poland what could be the largest petroleum discovery in Northern Europe in more than a decade in the shallow waters of the Baltic Sea near the border with Germany. The oil company, Central European Petroleum, said in a news release that recent drilling at a well near Swinoujscie, in northwest Poland, has revealed an estimated 200 million barrels of 'recoverable' oil and natural gas. If confirmed, this trove would be welcome in Poland, which consumes 740,000 barrels a day of oil. Like most European Union members, Poland relies mostly on imports. But the prospect of a new oil development on the Baltic coast has already led to environmental concerns in neighboring Germany. The chief executive of Central European Petroleum, Rolf G. Skaar, said in an interview that the field might eventually produce up to 40,000 barrels of oil a day. 'It's quite a surprise for this to come in offshore Poland,' said Lewis Lawrence, an analyst at Wood Mackenzie, an energy consulting firm. 'It's not an area where there has been that much offshore activity.' Mr. Lawrence said that the find, known as Wolin East, would be the largest in northern Europe since 2013 if it proves out and could strengthen what had been weak interest in exploration in Europe, especially in the Baltic. The European Union has seen a steady decline in oil production in recent decades, partly because of objections to drilling on environmental concerns. The Polish discovery was the result of around two decades of exploration, including digging into geological records from the Soviet era, Mr. Skaar said. He said that Alula Damte and Peter Putnam, the president and chairman of the company, went to 'old libraries, both in old East Germany and in Poland, scouring for data.' The company also drilled several wells in Germany, before figuring that there were likely to be larger hauls across the border in Poland. 'We've also been able to get hold of data on both sides of the border, which means we see the bigger picture,' he said. The company is backed by money from family offices in Norway and Canada as well as other private investors, said Mr. Skaar, an oil industry veteran. Other investors, though, would probably be brought in to aid in developing the discovery. Mr. Lawrence of Wood Mackenzie estimated that the development costs would be around $1 billion. The field should be relatively easy to bring online because it is in shallow water about 30 feet deep. It is also only roughly four miles from Swinoujscie, a port that could be used as a base for construction. Swinoujscie already has a liquid natural gas receiving terminal built by Poland to help break its energy dependence on Russia. Mr. Skaar said that one approach being considered would involve building an artificial island at the site. The discovery provoked dismay in Germany, where authorities and locals on the island of Usedom, home to a popular seaside resort, expressed concern that an oil platform visible from the beach would keep tourists away, depriving the region of a crucial source of income. 'The project represents a backward-looking industrial policy in terms of climate policy, which runs counter to environmental and tourism interests on the German side,' said Till Backhaus, the minister for the environment of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the state with jurisdiction over the island.
Euronews
21-07-2025
- Business
- Euronews
Poland discovers one of Europe's largest oil deposits in a decade
Central European Petroleum (CEP) has announced Poland's largest and one of Europe's most significant conventional oil finds in a decade, located off the central European country's Baltic Sea coast. The breakthrough was made at CEP's Wolin East 1 (WE1) well, some 6 kilometres from the port city of Świnoujście in Poland's northwest. Preliminary figures suggest the WE1 site contains 22 million tonnes of recoverable crude oil and condensate, along with 5 billion cubic metres of commercial-grade natural gas. The broader concession area, spanning 593 square kilometres, is estimated to contain over 33 million tonnes of oil and condensate, as well as 27 billion cubic metres of gas. That would more than double Poland's current estimated oil reserves, which stood at around 20.2 million tonnes in 2023, according to Polish public broadcaster TVP. If confirmed, the discovery would rank as Poland's largest conventional hydrocarbon deposit and among the biggest in Europe in the last 10 years, according to the Polish Press Agency. The well was drilled using a jack-up platform in waters measuring 9.5 metres deep, and reached a total vertical depth of 2,715 metres. 'This is a historic moment for both Central European Petroleum and the Polish energy sector,' said the company's CEO, Rolf G Skaar. 'Wolin East is more than just a promising deposit — it is a joint opportunity to unlock the full geological and energy potential of the Baltic Sea,' he added. The find could play a key role in reducing Poland's dependence on imported fossil fuels, particularly as the country looks to strengthen its energy autonomy, local media reported. 'The discovery of the Wolin East hydrocarbon deposit (...) could prove to be a breakthrough in the history of hydrocarbon exploration in Poland, especially in areas still insufficiently explored, such as the Polish Exclusive Economic Zone in the Baltic Sea,' said Krzysztof Galos, Poland's Undersecretary of State and Chief National Geologist. 'If this discovery is ultimately confirmed, the Wolin East deposit could become the largest deposit of crude oil and associated natural gas ever discovered in Poland,' he added. CEP Central European Petroleum, the company's Polish subsidiary, is overseeing the project. The parent firm, based in Canada and majority-owned by Norwegian investors, was originally established to explore for hydrocarbons in the European Union, with early activities focused on Germany.
