The Stręczyn-OU1 research well was spudded at the end of February. Its purpose was to extract core samples for analysis aimed to provide detailed geological information on the individual rock layers, verify current views on the basin's evolution, and - as a result - assess the prospectivity of further exploration work in the area. Analysis of selected rock samples provides a basis for planning any directional drilling and subsequent well fracturing treatments. For this reason, it is a crucial stage of each exploration project. Stręczyn-OU 1 is a third well drilled within the Wierzbica licence area, where a hydraulic fracturing treatment has been scheduled for the first half of this year on the Syczyn-OU2K well.

Although the weather at the beginning of the year was quite rough at times, the drilling work in the area of Nowy Stręczyn proceeded smoothly and according to schedule. The well was drilled to a slightly greater depth than originally planned, because some features of the rock formation were encountered at the depth of 3,400-3,500m were very encouraging. The extracted shale rock will be subject to an array of lab tests repeated many times over, due to the amount of analysed material - in some cases up to several thousand times. We hope that the laboratory tests confirm our earlier observations, allowing us to continue the search for gas in the location. Anyway, further decisions will not be made until autumn, said Wiesław Prugar, President of the ORLEN Upstream Management Board.

The drilling rig used in Nowy Stręczyn will now be transported to the adjacent licence area - Lubartów - where drilling is slated to start in a couple of weeks. PKN ORLEN has already drilled six exploration wells, including four vertical and two horizontal ones. In the first half of 2013, it intends to drill further wells and perform two fracturing treatments on the horizontal sections of the Syczyn-OU2K and Berejów-OU2K wells, located in the province of Lublin.

PKN ORLEN Press Office