The Polish firm announced on Thursday that the new stakes are in the Goliat field – an oil producing area off the northern coast of Norway – and that it made the purchase via its subsidiary Orlen Upstream Norway.

Orlen said the deal, which was signed with Norwegian oil and gas company Vår Energi, will boost its reserves by the equivalent of close to 60 million barrels of oil, adding that it will allow for an increase in production by 12,000 barrels daily within a few years.

Neither company revealed the cost of the purchase, which is still subject to approval by Norwegian authorities.

Orlen CEO Ireneusz Fąfara said the agreement “opens a new chapter” in the company’s history as it increases its gas and oil resources in Norway by 15%.

Fąfara said: “We have promised the people of Poland energy independence, security, and the lowest possible prices. That is why we have kept gas prices unchanged, protecting our customers from the impact of geopolitical turbulence.

“That is why we continue to consistently expand our own resource base. This is how we are building the secure, stable and crisis-resilient energy of tomorrow,” he added.

The Goliat field was first discovered in 2000, with oil and gas production at the site beginning in 2016.

Orlen said the region still has large reserves of oil and gas that will last “at least until 2040”, and that the Goliat field has the potential to become an “important element” of a local gas hub that can contribute to Polish and European energy security.