WARSAW, Feb 25 (Portal) – Russia has halted oil supplies to Poland via the Druzhba pipeline, CEO of Polish refinery PKN Orlen (PKN.WA) said on Saturday, adding that the company would explore alternative sources in order to to close the gap.
The halt to deliveries via the pipeline – which was exempt from EU sanctions imposed on Russia following its all-out invasion of Ukraine – came a day after Poland delivered its first Leopard tanks to Ukraine.
“We effectively secure the supply. Russia has stopped deliveries to Poland, for which we are prepared. Only 10% of crude oil comes from Russia and we will replace it with oil from other sources,” PKN Orlen CEO Daniel Obajtek wrote on Twitter.
The company said it can supply its refineries entirely by sea and the halt to pipeline deliveries will not affect deliveries of gasoline and diesel to customers.
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Since February, after a contract with Russian company Rosneft expired, Orlen has been sourcing oil under a deal with Russian oil and gas company Tatneft.
Tatneft and Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The halt came after US President Joe Biden visited Warsaw and Kiev this week to show his support for Ukraine, a year after the invasion.
The European Union agreed on a tenth package of sanctions against Russia on Friday.
After the invasion of Ukraine and before the EU imposed an embargo on sea supplies from Russia, Orlen stopped buying Russian oil and fuel across the sea.
The company’s supply portfolio now includes oil from West Africa, the Mediterranean, the Gulf and the Gulf of Mexico, it said. From 2022 there is also a supply contract with Saudi Aramco.
Deliveries reach Poland by sea via Naftoport, an oil terminal in Gdansk on the Baltic Sea. It can hold 36 million tons of oil annually, which is more than Polish refineries can process, and is partly used to supply oil to refineries in East Germany connected to Druzhba.
“Considering Naftoport’s capacity and the fact that we also have other routes for importing motor fuel, customers will not feel any impact while Orlen has been prepared for this for months,” Mateusz Berger, state secretary for strategic energy infrastructure, told Portal by phone.
Reporting by Marek Strzelecki Editing by Helen Popper and Frank Jack Daniel
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