Poland has signed a long-term oil supply contract with Saudi Arabia, which will cover almost half of the country’s oil consumption, Bloomberg reports.
According to the newspaper, the state oil company of the Kingdom of Saudi Aramco and the Polish PKN Orlen signed a contract for the supply of up to 337 thousand barrels per day to Poland, while the total demand of Poland is 650-700 thousand barrels per day.
The publication emphasizes that in order to work with Middle Eastern raw materials, Orlen will need to modernize oil refineries, since they were originally “sharpened” for the Russian Urals grade. However, in addition to the supply contract, Saudi Aramco acquires a 30% stake in the Polish Lotos refinery for 243 million euros, which should ensure a guaranteed demand for Saudi oil.
As analysts from Bloomberg Intelligence note, these deals expand the presence of the Saudis in the European market in the industry and strengthen their position in the region, which has traditionally been dominated by Russian oil. In particular, in 2020, according to the US Department of Energy, Poland was the third largest client of the Russian Federation in Europe, acquiring 7% of Russian oil exports. Only Germany (11%) and the Netherlands (11%) had a larger share among buyers in the EU.
Polish President Andrzej Duda, commenting on the deal with the Saudi company, called it “a great economic and political event” and noted that “thanks to the signed contracts, the energy security of Central and Eastern Europe will significantly improve.”
Source: Rosbalt
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