logo

Seeking to achieve a reasonable rate of return on its investment and considering the difficult situation on the global oil market, LOTOS Petrobaltic has made a decision to modify its plans for upgrading the ‘Petrobaltic’ rig. At the same time the company would like to clearly state that other work on the development of the B8 field is progressing on schedule.

Upstream activity

Seeking to achieve a reasonable rate of return on its investment and considering the difficult situation on the global oil market, LOTOS Petrobaltic has made a decision to modify its plans for upgrading the ‘Petrobaltic’ rig. At the same time the company would like to clearly state that other work on the development of the B8 field is progressing on schedule.

- We want to start production testing on the B8 field before the end of this year - said Zbigniew Paszkowicz, President of the Management Board of LOTOS Petrobaltic S.A. and Vice-President of the Management Board of Grupa LOTOS S.A., Chief Exploration and Production Officer. - And we expect regular production, with the use of the upgraded platform, to commence in mid-2016. Our decision is primarily due to the relatively low crude prices prevailing on the market today, which directly affect the profitability of the entire venture.

Having carried out detailed technical analyses, LOTOS Petrobaltic has resolved to change the scope of the ‘Petrobaltic’ rig upgrade work, to improve the commercial viability of the B8 development project

Therefore, the scope of work originally planned under the contract for the provision of shipyard services will not be implemented. It should be noted, however, that preparatory work for the rig’s conversion has already been carried out as scheduled by MARS Shipyards & Offshore companies owned by Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa S.A., which Grupa LOTOS S.A. values highly for their professional approach and commitment to the project.

Given the material modification to the scope of contracted work, LOTOS Petrobaltic is required by public procurement laws to terminate the ongoing tender procedure and launch a new one that would reflect the modification. The new tender procedure will be initiated by a special purpose vehicle of LOTOS Petrobaltic S.A. which holds the production licence for the B8 field and the ‘Petrobaltic’ rig.

 - The new procedure is due to begin next week - announced Zbigniew Paszkowicz. - We invite all companies eligible under public procurement laws to participate in the process. I am convinced that the ‘Petrobaltic’ rig conversion is a development opportunity not only for LOTOS Petrobaltic, but also for Poland’s shipyard industry.

It is important to note that global oil prices have declined by almost 50% over the last six months (from USD 105/bbl at the beginning of August 2014 to USD 53/bbl at the end of January 2015). Given these circumstances, LOTOS needs to carry out profitability analysis for all of its planned and running investment projects and adjust them to the current market conditions in order to maximise project economics for the Company and its shareholders.

Communications Office, Grupa LOTOS S.A., ul. Elbląska 135, 80-718 Gdańsk, Poland, tel. (+48) 58 308 87 31, (+48) 58 308 83 88, e-mail: media@grupalotos.pl