Poland’s Orlen Group has announced its new contract with British petrochemical producer BP, which will allow the Polish company to utilize Norway’s vast oil reserves.
After the contract was signed, Orlen announced that it had “secured more oil supplies from Norwegian fields in the North Sea,” with the company forecasting that Orlen will now refine 6 million tons of oil from Norway every year, representing 15 percent of the company’s oil needs.
The first tanker with Norwegian oil is expected to arrive at the port in Gdańsk during the summer.
According to Orlen’s CEO, Daniel Obajtek, the contract is part of the company’s efforts to continue the diversification of energy supplies. He stated that currently, 100 percent of oil supplies come to Poland from outside of Russia, with Obajtek listing the North Sea, West Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, and the Persian and Mexican gulfs as sources.
Obajtek says that the growth in supplies from the North Sea will enable Orlen Group to guarantee continuity of supply for all its stations in the region. He stated that he hoped the contract might also be a gateway to further cooperation with BP in terms of Poland’s energy transformation.
