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Twenty-five years have passed since production was launched at the B3 field on the Polish Baltic Sea, and the Tarnobrzeg tanker reached the Northern Port of Gdańsk with the first delivery of Petrobaltic’s crude oil from the field.

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Twenty-five years have passed since production was launched at the B3 field on the Polish Baltic Sea, and the Tarnobrzeg tanker reached the Northern Port of Gdańsk with the first delivery of Petrobaltic’s crude oil from the field.

In March 1992, Petrobaltic’s platform set off for the sea towards the B3-6 position that was identified by the geologists within the B3 field. The platform’s well drilling team drilled a well which allowed to produce Poland’s first crude oil from the Baltic Sea deposits. This took place on 16 May 1992 during a production test. The produced crude was stored onboard the Tarnobrzeg tanker which could be considered a floating storage facility. By 25 June 1992, the tanker was loaded with 5,497 cubic metres (about 34,500 barrels of oil equivalent) of crude oil. After the vessels were prepared and the tanker was detached from the field, Tarnobrzeg was towed back to the Northern Port. Once it arrived there, the first unloading of crude oil at a port in Petrobaltic’s history began.

Sławomir Sadowski, who then worked on the platform, and currently serves as the head of the Logistics and Dispatchers’ Department at LOTOS Petrobaltic, recalls the excitement related to the production of the first crude oil and its transportation to the port.

“Securing a stable extraction of crude oil caused great enthusiasm and excitement among the employees. Everyone was very interested in this, including the cooks, engineers, and, of course, managers. It was a much-awaited moment, because the company’s future, the possibility to finance further drills to confirm the deposits and allow to fully develop the B3 field depended on it.”

 “To date, about 35 million barrels of oil equivalent and 465 million cubic metres of natural gas have been produced from this field,” said Sławomir Sochacki, the production director at LOTOS Petrobaltic. “I wish to thank the entire crew of the platform. Owing to their work, we have been supplied with crude oil from the B3 field for 25 years.”

LOTOS is a Polish capital group whose activities are of strategic importance for the domestic and European energy security, as well as Poland’s economy. LOTOS produces crude oil and natural gas in Poland, Norway and Lithuania. It owns one of Europe’s most advanced refineries in Gdańsk, where crude oil is mostly processed into high-quality fuels, including the LOTOS Dynamic premium fuels. LOTOS is also a chain that comprises 480 petrol stations located in close proximity to highways and expressways in all agglomerations and many municipalities countrywide. LOTOS has a stake of close to 33% in Poland’s retail market. The group is also a leading producer of bitumens, motor oils and lubricants for cars, aircraft, rolling stock, vessels, as well as military vehicles. 

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

 

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