Prospection and exploration of oil and gas fields in Poland : 6th tender round

On June 30, 2021 the Polish Minister of Climate and Environment announced the boundaries of five areas dedicated for the next, 6th tender round for hydrocarbon concessions in Poland, planned for the second half of 2022. These are: Block 413-414, Block 208, Cybinka-Torzym, Zielona Góra West, and Koto tender areas. The main exploration target of these areas is related to conventional and unconventional accumulations of gas and oil in the Carpathian basement, Carpathian Foredeep and Outer Carpathians (Block 413-414), as well as in the Carboniferous, Permian Rotliegend, Zechstein Limestone, and Main Dolomite (Block 208, Cybinka-Torzym, Zielona Góra West) and in the Mesozoic of the Polish Lowlands (Koto). The other way of granting hydrocarbon concessions in Poland is the open door procedure, in which an entity may apply for concessions for any other area

Oil and gas in Poland: licensing round and the open door policy in 2019 and 2020

Udzielenie koncesji na poszukiwanie i rozpoznawanie złóż węglowodorów oraz wydobywanie węglowodorów ze złóż lub koncesji na wydobywanie węglowodorów ze złóż w Polsce następuje w wyniku przeprowadzenia postępowania przetargowego albo na wniosek zainteresowanego podmiotu (Ustawa… 2019: art. 49e). Na przełomie 2019 i 2020 r. będzie procedowana czwarta runda przetargów na koncesje węglowodorowe. Jej przedmiotem będzie pięć obszarów, wyznaczonych przez geologów Państwowego Instytutu Geologicznego – Państwowego Instytutu Badawczego (PIG-PIB) i Departamentu Geologii i Koncesji Geologicznych (DGK) Ministerstwa Środowiska na podstawie danych zgromadzonych w N arodowym A rchiwum Geologicznym, publikacji naukowych oraz wiedzy i doświadczenia płynących ze współpracy z przemysłem naftowym. S ą to: Pyrzyce, Złoczew, Ż abowo, Bestwina-Czechowice i Królówka. Perspektywy poszukiwawcze na obszarach Pyrzyce, Ż abowo i Z łoczew (centralna i północno-zachodnia Polska) są związane z utworami czerwonego spągowca i dolomitu głównego. Bestwina-Czechowice i Królówka (południowa Polska) są z kolei dedykowane poszukiwaniom konwencjonalnych lub hybrydowych nagromadzeń gazu ziemnego w utworach miocenu zapadliska przedkarpackiego pod nasunięciem karpackim, choć perspektywy poszukiwawcze występują również w ich paleozoiczno-mezozoicznym podłożu. O koncesje węglowodorowe można ubiegać się także na drodze przetargu inwestorskiego (tzw. open door) – na wniosek Przedsiębiorcy, pod warunkiem, że zgłaszany obszar nie jest objęty aktualnie trwającą koncesją lub nie jest przedmiotem przetargu.According to the Polish Geological and Mining L aw the granting of a concession for the exploration of a hydrocarbon deposit and the production of hydrocarbons from a deposit, or a concession for the production of hydrocarbons from a deposit in Poland is proceeded according to a tender procedure or open door procedure (upon a request of an entity). O n June 28, 2018 the Polish Minister of the E nvironment announced 5 tender areas. These areas (promising for discoveries of conventional and unconventional oil and gas deposits) were selected by the geologists of the Polish Geological Institute-NR I and Department of Geology and Geological Concessions of the Ministry of the E nvironment based on the geological data resources stored in the N ational Geological A rchive. These are: Bestwina-Czechowice, Królówka, Pyrzyce, Z łoczew i Ż abowo. The main exploration target on the areas located in central and north-western Poland (Pyrzyce, Ż abowo and Z łoczew) is related to Permian R otliegend sandstones and carbonates of the Z echstein/Main Dolomite. The Bestwina-Czechowice and Królówka areas (southern Poland) are prospective for conventional and hybrid-type accumulations of gas in the Miocene of the C arpathian Foredeep below the C arpathian O verthrust and in the Paleozoic-Mesozoic basement. The beginning of the 4th bidding round for hydrocarbon concessions is planned in Q4 2019. The entity can also choose the area and apply for a license submitting an application to the Ministry of the Environment. The area indicated by the entity cannot be the subject of a tender or any other concession, and the maximum acreage is 1,200 km2

New Opportunities for Oil and Gas Exploration in Poland—A Review

Reserves totaling ~142 BCM (5 TCF) of natural gas trapped in 306 fields and ~22 MTOE (~157 MMBOE) of crude oil in 87 fields have been discovered. The prospection, exploration, and production of hydrocarbons are licensed: an entity interested in these kinds of activities needs to have concession, which is granted by the Polish Ministry of Climate and Environment for 10 to 30 years according to one of two independent ways—international tender or open door procedure. In this review, the most prospective areas for oil and gas exploration in Poland, selected by the Polish Geological Survey, and announced as dedicated for the next 6th tender round, planned in the second half of 2022, are described. These are: Block 413–414, Block 208, Cybinka–Torzym, Zielona Góra West, and Koło areas. The main exploration target of these tender areas is related to conventional and unconventional accumulations of gas and oil in the Carpathian basement, Carpathian Foredeep, and Outer Carpathians (Block 413–414), as well as in the Carboniferous, Permian Rotliegend, Zechstein Main Dolomite (Block 208, Cybinka–Torzym, Zielona Góra West), and in the Mesozoic of the Polish Lowlands (Koło). The second way of granting concession in Poland is the so-called open door procedure, in which an entity may apply for a concession for any other area selected on its own

Prospection, exploration and production of hydrocarbons in Poland in 2019 and 2020 : tender procedure vs open door policy

A concession for prospection, exploration and production of hydrocarbons from deposits or a concession for production of hydrocarbons from deposits shall be granted by the way of a tender procedure or at the request of the interested entity. On June 28, 2018 the Polish Minister of the Environment announced the boundaries of the five tender areas dedicated for the next, 4th tender round for hydrocarbon concessions in Poland. These are: Bestwina-Czechowice, Królówka, Pyrzyce, Złoczew and Żabowo. The main exploration target of the areas located in southern Poland (Carpathians) - Bestwina-Czechowice and Królówka - is related to conventional accumulations of gas in the Miocene of the Carpathian Foredeep and to conventional and unconventional accumulations of gas and oil in the Paleozoic-Mesozoic basement of the Carpathian units. On the other side, the conventional accumulations of gas in the Permian Rotliegend sandstones and conventional and unconventional accumulations of gas and oil in the Zechstein/Main Dolomite carbonates are expected in the Pyrzyce, Żabowo and Złoczew areas, in central and north-western Poland. The beginning of the tender is planned for Q1 2020. The tender will last 180 days. The entities can also apply for a concession submitting an application to the Licensing Authority . However, the area indicated by the entity cannot be a subject of a tender or any other concession, and the maximum acreage cannot exceed 1200 km2. As a rule, a concession is granted for a period of 30 years and will be divided into 2 phases: (1) prospection and exploration phase (which lasts no longer than 5 years, but in justified cases can be extended), (2) production phase (25 years). Every entity interested in obtaining a concession needs to undergo the qualification procedure. We believe that this publication will contribute to better understanding of the offered tender areas and boosts the activity in the Polish oil and gas sector