Orlen taps local companies for Baltic East seabed survey offshore Poland

Poland’s Orlen Group has selected three local companies to explore the geological conditions of the seabed within the Baltic East offshore wind farm concession area in the Baltic Sea.

A consortium of three companies, MEWO, Orlen Petrobaltic, and Geofizyka Toruń, will conduct geological engineering, seismic, and laboratory tests for Orlen. They will assess the strength and stability of the ground and detect unexploded ordnance objects.

The survey will be carried out using specialised vessels at a depth of approximately 35 metres, and the completion is scheduled for the end of the year.

Based on the information obtained, a preliminary technical design will be created for the Baltic East offshore wind farm, according to Orlen.

“From the very beginning, we have strived to maximally use the potential of Polish companies in the implementation of our strategic investments, because this drives the economy. The domestic value chain of the offshore wind energy sector is developing before our eyes,” said Ireneusz Fąfara, President of the Management Board of ORLEN.

“The implementation of the first farm in the Baltic Sea – Baltic Power is based on the knowledge and experience of Polish companies in over 20 percent. In the second project – Baltic East, we want their share to be at least twice as large.”

Baltic East is a neighbouring project to Baltic Power, with the potential of almost 1 GW of installed power, enabling the production of renewable energy for about 1.25 million Polish households.

The 1.2 GW Baltic Power, which Orlen is developing jointly with Northland Power, is the most advanced wind project on the Polish part of the Baltic Sea. The wind farm is set to begin operations in late 2026.

In October 2023, Orlen was awarded licences for five new offshore wind farm development sites in the Polish Baltic Sea. The offshore wind farms could have a total installed capacity of approximately 5.2 GW.