Poland discovers major oil and gas deposit in Baltic Sea
Central European Petroleum (CEP) has announced the discovery of Poland’s largest conventional oil deposit in a decade, located off the country’s Baltic Sea coast near Świnoujście, reports a Kazinform News Agency correspondent.
The Wolin East 1 (WE1) well is estimated to contain 22 million tonnes of crude oil and condensate, along with 5 billion cubic metres of natural gas. The wider concession area, covering 593 square kilometres, may hold over 33 million tonnes of oil and 27 billion cubic metres of gas, according to CEP.
“This is a historic moment for both Central European Petroleum and the Polish energy sector,” said CEP 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.”
The well, drilled using a jack-up platform in 9.5-metre-deep waters, reached a vertical depth of 2,715 metres. If confirmed, the discovery would more than double Poland’s current oil reserves, which stood at around 20.2 million tonnes in 2023, and would be one of the most significant in Europe over the past ten years.
“The discovery of the Wolin East hydrocarbon deposit (...) could prove to be a breakthrough in the history of hydrocarbon exploration in Poland,” said Krzysztof Galos, Undersecretary of State and Chief National Geologist.
CEP’s Polish subsidiary is overseeing the project, while the Canada-based parent company is majority-owned by Norwegian investors.
As reported earlier, global energy demand is expected to continue rising through 2050, driven by economic growth, population increases, and the advancement of new technologies, according to a statement by OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais accompanying the release of the World Oil Outlook.