Poland's second-biggest oil refiner Lotos has launched test production at its oil field at the Baltic Sea, the group's key upstream project, the company said on Oct. 6.

The B8 field is estimated to have about 3.5 million tonnes of oil where Lotos has said it plans to produce ultimately some 250,000 tonnes.

Lotos Chief Executive Pawel Olechnowicz said last month that commercial output at the B8 field would be launched in 2016.

After commercial output begins, the company has said B8 would produce up to 5,000 oil barrels per day to be the third biggest production field in Poland. Lotos is now producing 24,000 barrels a day.