Oil pipeline. Illustrative photo.
Warsaw – Polish refiner PKN Orlen will demand compensation due to the suspension of Russian oil deliveries via the Druzhba pipeline to Poland in February. This was stated by the head of the company, Daniel Obajtek. However, he did not provide further details, Reuters reported.
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“The Russians have stopped pumping oil into Poland. So we will now take legal action and assert our claims,” Obajtek told private radio station Radio Zet. However, he declined to provide the amount of potential compensation and discuss the details of the contracts.
Last spring, Poland and Germany promised to try to end oil imports through the northern branch of the Druzhba by the end of the year. At the time, PKN Orlen had a long-term contract with the Russian company Rosneft, which expired at the end of 2022, as well as a contract with Russia's Tatneft, which expires in 2024. The European Union imposed an embargo on the import of Russian oil from December 5, the transportation of oil by pipeline Druzhba, however, was temporarily exempted from this embargo.
The Druzhba pipeline runs from Russia to Belarus, where it splits into two branches. The northern one leads to Poland and Germany, the southern one through Ukraine to Hungary. Still on Ukrainian territory, however, the southern branch continues to split and the oil flows separately to Slovakia and the Czech Republic. On February 25 this year, Obajtek announced that Russia had stopped supplying oil to the northern branch of the Druzhba pipeline, which leads to Poland. The transportation of raw materials via the Družba pipeline to the Czech Republic remained.
Obajtek stated in February that the interruption of deliveries via the Družba pipeline to Poland will not affect PKN Orlen's customers, as Poland has recently received only a tenth of its crude oil consumption and supply from Russia will replace from other sources.
Orlen Unipetrol, which is the largest refining and petrochemical company in the Czech Republic, is also a part of the Orlen group. Orlen Unipetrol focuses on oil processing as well as the production, distribution and sale of fuel and petrochemical products, especially plastics and fertilizers. It includes the Benzina Orlen gas station network.
