Poland and Ukraine move closer together on energy issues

Plock (energate) - The Ukrainian petroleum company Ukrnafta has signed a contract with the Polish Orlen Group for the import of petroleum products into Ukraine. This was announced by the general director of the Ukrainian state-owned company, Serhiy Koretskyy. The Ukrainians have been trying for a long time to buy petrol and diesel products as directly as possible and without intermediaries from the producer at favourable prices. Ukrainian refineries are targeted by Russia as they have been classified as critical infrastructure.

In addition, Ukrnafta is also holding parallel talks with Orlen on crude oil exports, Ukrainian media commented, referring to Ukrainian CEO Serhiy Koretskyy's social media channels. Ukrnafta is the country's largest oil producer. In 2021, the company produced almost 1.5 million tonnes of oil. According to Koretskyy, production continued even under wartime conditions in 2022 and achieved a good result.

In 2022, the Ukrainian state transferred the shares of Ukrnafta and Ukrtatnafta to its ownership due to the war. There was also evidence of fraud and corruption concerning the original owner of the company, oligarch Ihor Kolomoyskyi. According to Ukrainian media reports, of the company's total of 537 petrol stations, about 448 are still actively operating due to the war. Many petrol stations lack fuel. The war has severely limited the logistical possibilities so far. Ukrtatnafta is planning to acquire a modern fleet of tanker trucks this year.
 

Subject to speculation

Orlen has not yet commented on its concrete plans in Ukraine. CEO Daniel Obajtek repeated on Polish radio at the end of February that Orlen will continue to support Ukraine as long as it is necessary. Before the war, there had been several speculations about whether Orlen would also enter the Ukrainian market, after the group had become active in almost all states bordering Poland.

"We sell a considerable amount of bitumen in this market. In addition, we have acquired the Lithuanian rail terminal Mockavos, which allows us to transport our fuels from Lithuania to Ukraine, bypassing Belarus," Obajtek said in reference to Ukraine even before Russia's invasion. At the same time, according to him, Ukraine does not have a developed refining industry and is dependent on fuel imports. "The only refinery in Krzemenchuk has a capacity of 16 million tonnes, but it produces only 5 million tonnes," Obajtek reported.
 

Nuclear power and mineral oil

So far, no corresponding contract has been concluded. It was not until the end of September 2022 that the Polish company again announced that it was interested in investing in Ukraine in order to improve the region's energy security. This was to be implemented primarily in the areas of nuclear power and in the petroleum industry. Thus, Orlen is also involved in further cooperation with the Ukrainian energy sector. Together with Synthos Green Energy, an additional power line is being built to Ukraine, which will connect the Polish grid to the electricity produced by the Rivne nuclear power plant with a capacity of 2,500 MW. The 400 kV line is expected to enable a two-way power transfer of up to 1,000 MW and be operational from 2026. /Aleksandra Fedorska