Central European Petroleum (CEP) has announced Poland’s largest and one of Europe’s most significant conventional oil finds in a decade, located off the central European country’s Baltic Sea coast.
The breakthrough was made at CEP’s Wolin East 1 (WE1) well, some 6 kilometres from the port city of Świnoujście in Poland’s northwest.
Preliminary figures suggest the WE1 site contains 22 million tonnes of recoverable crude oil and condensate, along with 5 billion cubic metres of commercial-grade natural gas.
The broader concession area, spanning 593 square kilometres, is estimated to contain over 33 million tonnes of oil and condensate, as well as 27 billion cubic metres of gas.
That would more than double Poland’s current estimated oil reserves, which stood at around 20.2 million tonnes in 2023, according to Polish public broadcaster TVP.
If confirmed, the discovery would rank as Poland’s largest conventional hydrocarbon deposit and among the biggest in Europe in the last 10 years, according to the Polish Press Agency.
The well was drilled using a jack-up platform in waters measuring 9.5 metres deep, and reached a total vertical depth of 2,715 metres.
“This is a historic moment for both Central European Petroleum and the Polish energy sector,” said the company’s CEO, Rolf G Skaar.
“Wolin East is more than just a promising deposit — it is a joint opportunity to unlock the full geological and energy potential of the Baltic Sea,” he added.
The find could play a key role in reducing Poland’s dependence on imported fossil fuels, particularly as the country looks to strengthen its energy autonomy, local media reported.
“The discovery of the Wolin East hydrocarbon deposit (…) could prove to be a breakthrough in the history of hydrocarbon exploration in Poland, especially in areas still insufficiently explored, such as the Polish Exclusive Economic Zone in the Baltic Sea,” said Krzysztof Galos, Poland’s Undersecretary of State and Chief National Geologist.
“If this discovery is ultimately confirmed, the Wolin East deposit could become the largest deposit of crude oil and associated natural gas ever discovered in Poland,” he added.
CEP Central European Petroleum, the company’s Polish subsidiary, is overseeing the project.
The parent firm, based in Canada and majority-owned by Norwegian investors, was originally established to explore for hydrocarbons in the European Union, with early activities focused on Germany.
