ORLEN guarantees stable oil and fuel supplies

‘Over the past four years we have established strong partnerships with an extensive base of suppliers from Europe and beyond. Over this period, we have imported and tested around one hundred non-Russian crude grades in refineries belonging to the ORLEN Group. Therefore, when imports from the eastern source are suspended, we will maintain stable oil supplies for Poland and the entire Central and Eastern Europe. However, phasing out Russian oil should be coordinated at the EU level to maintain market balance, ‘ said Daniel Obajtek, President of the PKN ORLEN Management Board.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the ORLEN Group has made agreements to increase the volumes of oil imported from non-Russian sources. The measures taken fully ensure continuity of production at the ORLEN Group’s refineries in Poland, the Czech Republic and Lithuania, which are well prepared to process various crude types as the Group managed to diversify supplies over the past four years. As recently as 2013, a whopping 98% of the crude feedstock processed in Płock was REBCO oil, which is sourced from Russia. Currently, the grade accounts for only about 50% of the plant’s crude slate, the balance coming from Saudi Arabia, the US and West Africa, and Norway.

Fields in the North Sea provide a source of Forties, Oseberg, Johan Sverdrup, Troll, Brent and Ekofisk oils for the Group. Forcados and Bonny Light oil grades are imported from West Africa. ORLEN Group’s supply portfolio also includes WTI, Bakken and Mars oil produced in the United States.

The uninterrupted refining production at the ORLEN Group’s refineries guarantees steady fuel supplies to the market. Currently, there are no fuel shortages in Poland. Should it become necessary, PKN ORLEN is able to deal with any undersupply using output from its two Czech refineries and, additionally, from its refinery in Mažeikiai, Lithuania. In the case of the Lithuanian refinery, transport of the product is possible both by rail and by sea. It is important to note, however, that the ORLEN Group’s Czech and Lithuanian refineries will first meet demand in their respective regions, as is the case today.

All logistics processes supporting fuel deliveries at the ORLEN Group are also secured. The ORLEN terminals and storage depots are operating without disruption. As the Group is well prepared to withstand the impact of the current situation, the availability of fuel at its stations is fully assured. This is a result of earlier investments and decisions made by the PKN ORLEN Management Board. In April 2021, PKN ORLEN repurchased OTP, Poland’s largest road haulier of liquid fuels, which has given the Group full control over the product along the entire logistics chain. In June 2021, PKN ORLEN acquired the fuel loading terminal in Mockava on the Poland-Lithuania border, enabling the Group to transport large volumes of diesel and gasoline from Lithuania’s Mažeikiai refinery to the Polish market bypassing Belarus. PKN ORLEN has its own rail company, ORLEN KolTrans, which delivers fuel to virtually all of the Group’s depots across the country. For the past four years, PKN ORLEN has also consistently expanded the storage capacities of its terminals.

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