Orlen had a remaining oil supply contract signed with Russian oil company Tatneft, which was to expire in December 2024. Under the contract, Orlen had been purchasing some 200,000 tonnes of oil per month. In late February, Tatneft announced that it had stopped supplying Russian oil to Poland because the transport orders for the end of February had not been executed and paid for. Oil supplies to Poland were excluded from the export schedule, approved by the Russian Energy Ministry.
"There were two contracts. These contracts are not in place anymore. After the visit of [US] President [Joe] Biden when the oil stopped coming, an argument to terminate to contract emerged," Obajtek said in a televised appearance on Polish broadcaster Polsat.
The chairperson noted that the concern has already found the volume of oil to replace the Russian oil.
"There were only 10% of oil coming from Russia. We will replace it with oil from other directions," Obajtek added.
The chairperson noted that Orlen terminated the contract without additional penalties.
"There was a clause in the terms of the contract that if the oil was not delivered within a certain period of time, we had the right to terminate the contract. So we did not pay for the oil we did not receive," he said.
In December 2022, against the backdrop of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, the European Union stopped importing Russian oil transported by sea. The G7 countries, Australia and the EU imposed a price cap of $60 a barrel for Russian crude oil transported by sea, blocking the transport of oil bought at higher prices. In retaliation, Russia prohibited selling its oil abroad if supply contracts provide for a price cap mechanism.