ORLEN Upstream Norway, together with its partners, has discovered a new gas and condensate field in the North Sea. The prospect, named Frida Kahlo gas discovery, is estimated to contain resources of around 7.2 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe). The company plans to begin production in the first half of 2026, with gas from the field to be transported to Poland via the Baltic Pipe.

The Frida Kahlo discovery is located in the Sleipner area, one of ORLEN’s key production hubs on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The well that identified the new resources was drilled from the Sleipner B platform, meaning no additional infrastructure will be required to bring the field on stream.

“Frida Kahlo demonstrates the efficiency of our operations on the Shelf. By using existing infrastructure, we not only reduce the cost of developing new resources but also shorten the time needed to launch production, thereby accelerating the return on investment. In the case of Frida Kahlo, the pace will be exceptional — the field will start contributing to the ORLEN Group’s results just weeks after the discovery. The gas will be transported to Poland through Baltic Pipe. This is particularly important at a time when energy security — understood as the stability of supply — is more critical than ever,” said Wiesław Prugar, Member of the Management Board of ORLEN responsible for Upstream operations.

Total resources at the Frida Kahlo discovery are initially estimated at between 5.3 and 9.4 million boe, including 450–810 million cubic metres of gas. ORLEN Upstream Norway holds a 24.41% stake in the licence. Other partners are Equinor (operator, 58.35%) and Vår Energi (17.24%).

Bringing the Frida Kahlo field into production will also help maintain efficient utilisation of infrastructure in the Sleipner area, which accounted for around 30% of ORLEN Group’s total production in Norway in 2025. The hub plays a key role in the company’s ORLEN 2035 strategy, which assumes that by 2030 up to 12 billion cubic metres of natural gas annually will be supplied to Poland from domestic and international fields owned by the group.

Gas produced in the Sleipner area is transported to the Kårstø processing terminal, and from there through the Europipe II and the Danish transmission system before entering Baltic Pipe.

The Frida Kahlo discovery marks ORLEN’s second exploration success in the Sleipner area this year. In January, the company announced the discovery of the Sissel gas discovery field, with estimated resources of 6.3–28.3 million boe, including 0.6–2.7 billion cubic metres of gas. ORLEN holds a 50% stake in that licence.