Poland’s Orlen Group will not extend its contract for Russian oil supplies with Rosneft, which expires in January 2023. Orlen has already given up importing oil by sea, which was a step taken immediately after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Orlen has two supply contracts with Russian entities — the first is with Rosneft for 300,000 tons of oil per month, and it expires in January next year. The second contract is with Tatneft for 200,000 tons of oil and expires in December 2024.
These contracts cannot be canceled on any grounds other than the introduction of sanctions that have been imposed by the EU.
Sanctions were imposed by the EU on oil imported by sea and came into effect on Dec. 5. These sanctions are estimated to cover nearly 90 percent of oil imports from Russia to Europe. This means Russia has lost a market for 1.5 million barrels per day. Once all of the imports by pipelines stop, that total will rise to 2 million barrels per day.
According to Orlen, its focus on diversifying its oil supplies has increased energy security for Poland and all of Central Europe. Already 70 percent of oil for Orlen’s refineries comes from sources other than Russia. Back in 2015, all of the oil processed in its refineries came from Russia.
