PGNiG Expands Control over Norwegian Gas Field
Poland’s PGNiG has consolidated its control over the Duva gas field off Norway, snapping up an extra stake in the project from Oslo-based Pandion Energy.
PGNiG became a partner at the North Sea deposit at the end of October, after closing a deal to acquire a 20% interest from another Norwegian operator Wellesley Petroleum. PGNiG is now set to pick up extra 10% shares in North Sea licences PL636 and PL636B containing Duva, the Polish gas firm said on November 7. This will bring its ownership to 30%.
“Increasing our share in the deposit, which is close to starting production, brings us nearer to achieving the goal of implementing our strategy for natural gas extraction on the Norwegian Continental Shelf,” PGNiG president Piotr Wozniak said in a statement.
Duva is on track to start producing gas at the end of 2020, with PGNiG expecting to net 0.2bn m3 of output between 2023 and 2028. This gas will be fed into the Baltic Pipe project running from Norway to Poland via Denmark. Danish authorities issued a permit for the 10bn m3/yr pipeline’s construction in late October.
The Duva concession is operated by London-based Neptune Energy with a 30% stake, with Japan’s Idemitsu Petroleum also controlling a 30% share. Pandion is set to exit the project, also announcing today it would sell its remaining 10% interest to Solveig Gas Norway.
“Duva was the first discovery in our portfolio after forming Pandion Energy almost three years ago,” Pandion CEO Jan Christian Ellefsen commented in a company release. “We are pleased with the significant value created to date, having participated since the field was discovered through to development.”
Duva holds 88mn barrels of oil equivalent in recoverable reserves including 8.4bn m3 of gas, according to Norwegian authorities.