The Norwegian Ministry of Energy has offered new offshore mining licenses. Poles can benefit from them, also thanks to Orlen’s new investment in KUFPEC.
The Ministry has offered 62 new mining concessions to 24 hydrocarbon companies, including PGNiG Upstream Norway, with 16 entities acting as operators. Of these, 29 are in the North Sea, 25 in the Norwegian Sea and eight in the Barents Sea.
A mining concession gives the exclusive right to explore, drill and extract hydrocarbons in a given area. Annual licensing rounds were introduced in Norway in 2003. The invitation was addressed to PGNiG Upstream Norway.
The list also includes KUFPEC Norway, which was acquired in November 2023 by Orlen, which also owns PGNiG. This acquisition gave Poland access to more natural gas. Orlen also has gas supply contracts from companies operating in Norway such as Aker BP and Equinor, which have also been invited to the new licensing round. Poland has been importing gas from Norway via the Baltic Pipe since the fall of 2022.
Ministry of Energy of Norway / Wojciech Jakóbik