The CEO of Poland’s largest oil company announced that it was no longer receiving Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline, but said there were preparations in advance for this situation.
The Guardian newspaper on February 25 reported that PKN Orlen – Poland’s largest oil company – has stopped receiving oil through the Druzhba pipeline running from Russia.
“We still effectively ensure oil supply. Russia has stopped supplying oil to Poland. We are prepared for this,” Daniel Obajtek, chief executive officer of the company PKN Orlen, wrote on Twitter. February 25th. PKN Orlen did not give a reason for the Russian side to stop supplying oil.
PKN Orlen said that it can fully supply oil to its refineries via sea and consumers will not be affected by the Russian shutdown.
PKN Orlen has stopped buying oil by sea from Russia. Currently, the Polish company is buying oil from West Africa, the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Mexico via sea.
According to Bloomberg, regarding 10% of Poland’s oil supply comes from Russia following the country cut back on Russian oil imports related to Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine last year.
Poland has repeatedly said that it plans to completely stop importing Russian oil but needs European sanctions to cancel the only remaining contract with a Russian supplier.
The Druzhba pipeline – which runs from Russia to Poland, Germany, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia – is exempt from EU sanctions to give member states few alternative supply options.
On February 24, the EU approved the 10th round of sanctions once morest Russia. Sanctions in the 10th round of sanctions include tighter export restrictions on goods and technologies for military-civil use, as well as new restrictions on individuals. individuals and organizations that are believed to be supporting Russian military operations, “spreading information beneficial to Russia, or transporting Russian drones in Ukraine”.
Not long ago, the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand announced new sanctions once morest Moscow.
On February 21, in his State of the Union address, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Western sanctions have backfired.