Orlen Group wraps up seabed studies for new offshore wind development

For nearly four months, preliminary seismic and geotechnical seabed surveys were carried out across the Baltic East offshore wind project area by three specialist units from a consortium of Polish companies: Orlen Petrobaltic, Geofizyka Toruń and MEWO. During the campaign, a team of qualified researchers, technicians and operators completed over 1,000 kilometres of seismic lines, along with numerous soundings and boreholes. The data collected will enable Orlen Neptun to develop the next key stages of the project.

Janusz Bil, president of the management board of Orlen Neptun, emphasized that the seabed investigations mark a crucial step forward for the company’s offshore wind farm plans and highlight the growing maturity of the Polish supply chain. “Seabed investigations are one of the key stages in developing our offshore wind farm project. The work in the Baltic was carried out by a consortium of three Polish companies, which shows the growing readiness of the Polish supply chain to provide high-quality services to the offshore wind energy sector. It is important to us that Polish companies are as involved as possible in our projects. The offshore surveys were conducted to the highest standards and best practices, keeping environmental impact to a minimum. The results will allow us to move efficiently into the next stages of project delivery,” said Janusz Bil.

Surveying the full footprint

Seabed surveys for the Baltic East project got underway in late June and continued for more than 15 weeks. Over that period, three specialist vessels worked across the full footprint of the planned wind farm site. The information gathered at sea – together with the detailed processing that followed – will support precise modelling of the seabed geology, provide the technical foundation needed for upcoming design stages and guide the planning of future geological campaigns.

Geofizyka Toruń led the multichannel 2D seismic campaign, gathering a detailed picture of the subsurface. The next phase will dig into the data to outline the main soil layers and pinpoint potential geohazards – from boulder fields to pockets of shallow gas – that could influence future design and installation work.

UXO surveys

MEWO carried out the UXO surveys, scanning the seabed for any unexploded ordnance that might pose a risk. Their work mapped dozens of magnetic anomalies and confirmed where the seabed is safe for geotechnical activities. Completing UXO checks ahead of offshore drilling is both a mandatory and critical step, safeguarding crews, equipment and future infrastructure.

The final round of fieldwork was undertaken by Orlen Petrobaltic aboard the vessel Sylur. More than 1,200 metres of boreholes and soundings were drilled, reaching depths of up to 80 metres below the seabed. Laboratory analysis of the recovered samples is now in progress, alongside interpretation of the seismic datasets.

Baltic East is already advancing through the permitting landscape, holding preliminary grid connection conditions, a permit for constructing or using artificial islands and structures, and approvals for cable-laying within internal waters and the territorial sea.