Kommersant: Poland plans to continue buying Russian oil despite the authorities' promises to join EU sanctions

The EU embargo on maritime shipments of Russian oil comes into effect on December 5. Although it does not apply to deliveries via the Druzhba pipeline, Germany and Poland, which receive their oil via the northern leg of the pipeline, have officially announced that they will voluntarily give up Russian oil at the beginning of next year.

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Illustration, Photo: Shuttestock
Illustration, Photo: Shuttestock
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

Poland plans to continue buying Russian oil next year through the Druzhba pipeline, despite promises by the country's authorities to join European Union (EU) sanctions, writes Kommersant.

Poland's largest oil refiner Orlen has sent an offer to Russian oil and gas transport company Transneft for three million tons of oil through the Druzhba pipeline next year, the newspaper reported, citing a source in the Polish oil industry.

Transneft confirmed the order without specifying which company it came from and the requested quantities, reports Nezavisne novine.

The EU embargo on maritime shipments of Russian oil comes into effect on December 5. Although it does not apply to deliveries via the Druzhba pipeline, Germany and Poland, which receive their oil via the northern leg of the pipeline, have officially announced that they will voluntarily give up Russian oil at the beginning of next year.

Komersant points out that the Polish oil company has active long-term contracts with Transneft, and Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau said at the beginning of the week that Orlen risks paying a fine in case of unilateral withdrawal from the agreement.

Poland's Orlen currently does not buy Russian oil on the spot market, but continues to receive it under long-term contracts with Tatneft (2,4 million tons per year until 2024) and Rosneft (3,6 million tons per year).

The contract with Rosneft was renewed for two years in March 2021 and, apparently, it will still be valid in January and February next year, writes Kommersant.

Commenting on the issue, Transneft Vice President Sergej Andronov said that in addition to offers from the company's clients, who use the southern branch of the Druzhba pipeline, there are offers from Polish consumers for deliveries via Belarus next year.

Andronov added that he hoped that German buyers of Russian oil would be equally reasonable in securing stable oil supplies from Russia.

Andronov also noted that, despite the approach of the European embargo on the transportation of Russian oil by sea, the process of organizing deliveries is in working order.

"As for the planning of deliveries in December by sea, we do not yet see significant changes in volume compared to November this year," Andronov said.

Naftovod Druzhba is one of the longest pipeline networks in the world and transports oil in a length of about four thousand kilometers from the eastern part of European Russia to refineries in the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.

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