ORLEN Acquires Stake in the Afrodite Discovery
ORLEN Upstream Norway has agreed to acquire a 25% interest in production license PL293 in the North Sea from Vår Energi. The license covers the unconventional Afrodite gas discovery, which has the potential to deliver nearly 2 billion cubic meters of natural gas net to ORLEN.
The Afrodite project will also serve as a testing ground for new methods for producing unconventional resources on the Continental Shelf, including Victoria—the largest undeveloped gas discovery in Norway—in which ORLEN also holds a stake.
“Unconventional oil and gas resources on the Norwegian Continental Shelf represent a vast but still untapped potential. By combining modern production techniques with our existing expertise, we believe we can unlock these resources together with our partners and contribute to a new phase of development in Norway’s upstream sector,” said Wiesław Prugar, ORLEN Management Board Member, Upstream.
Afrodite was discovered in 2008, but due to difficult High Pressure / High Temperature environment its development had not been actively pursued until recently. The license partners have now decided to drill an appraisal well to assess the feasibility of production using stimulation technologies and to better quantify recoverable reserves
Based on current estimates, recoverable resources amount to approximately 7.5 billion cubic meters of gas, with around 1.9 billion cubic meters attributable to ORLEN. Afrodite could be developed as tie-back to the nearby Kvitebjørn field, where ORLEN Upstream Norway is also a partner, generating additional synergies.
The acquisition of the PL293 license remains subject to standard Norwegian regulatory approvals. Upon completion, ORLEN will hold a 25% interest in the Afrodite field. Equinor will remain operator of the license with a 70% stake, while Wellesley Petroleum will hold 5%.
The Afrodite transaction further strengthens ORLEN’s unconventional upstream portfolio in Norway. In January 2026, following the APA 2025 licensing round, ORLEN Upstream Norway received an offer to acquire a 20% stake in the unconventional Victoria gas discovery, whose resources in place are estimated at 140 billion cubic meters. Total discovered unconventional gas resources on the Norwegian Continental Shelf awaiting development decisions exceed 800 billion cubic meters.
ORLEN Upstream Norway’s involvement in the search for and acquisition of new deposits is consistent with the ORLEN 2035 strategy, according to which Norwegian fields are expected to deliver up to 12 billion m³ of natural gas annually by 2030.
