Obajtek: PKN Orlen secured even if it abandons eastern oil supplies
In terms of crude oil supply, PKN Orlen is secured even at the moment of cancelling supplies from the eastern direction, PKN Orlen’s CEO Daniel Obajtek said in an interview for the Orlen Group’s periodical magazine GO! According to him, the takeover of PGNiG should be finalized by the end of the year.
In the interview, which was published in the April issue of the GO! magazine under the title “Daniel Obajtek: we are realising the Polish raison d’etre”, PKN Orlen’s CEO stressed that upon taking up his post, he had put a “strong emphasis” on diversification of raw material supplies from the very beginning. “We already knew then that energy independence is the key to stable supplies,” Obajtek said. – Obajtek declared.
To this end, he pointed out, PKN Orlen has, over the course of four years, established relations with suppliers from both Europe and beyond this continent – at the same time, approximately 100 different types of crude oil have been tested at Orlen Group refineries in Poland, but also in the Czech Republic and Lithuania.
The CEO of PKN Orlen pointed out that as recently as 2013 almost the entire volume of raw material processed in the refinery in Płock consisted of Russian oil, while currently already half of it comes from other directions, including the US, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria or Norway.
– As a result, today we are secured even at the moment of giving up supplies from the eastern direction – Obajtek assured.
He reminded that during the recent visit of US President Joe Biden to Warsaw, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki declared that Poland would be one of the first countries in the European Union to take such a step.
– I am therefore satisfied that the actions I have taken together with the management board of PKN Orlen, aimed at seeking alternative sources of oil supply, have effectively prepared us for the possible implementation of such a goal,” Obajtek added.
Referring to the critical voices on the merger with other national entities of the energy sector and the oil and gas segment within the framework of creating a multi-energy concern, the PKN Orlen CEO evaluated, that “the disinformation activities conducted around the merger process directly hit the Polish raison d’etre and are based on untrue theses”.
According to him, the current global situation clearly shows that the decision to create an entity that will be able to redefine the Polish energy policy was right.
– As a big, strong player it will be easier for us to negotiate contracts, obtain better trade conditions with foreign partners and achieve economies of scale – Obajtek stressed.
In his opinion, the “fastest possible merger” of PKN Orlen with Lotos Group and PGNiG “is therefore a key issue, the Polish raison d’etre, as it will allow further independence from Russian raw materials”.
The PKN Orlen CEO also noted that the company’s earlier acquisition of Energa Group “provided an impulse” for the enlarged Orlen Group “to dynamically develop renewable energy sources, which will have an increasing share in the energy mix”. He also mentioned the intensive development and investments carried out within Orlen Group in alternative technologies, such as small nuclear reactors, photovoltaic installations, offshore wind farms, and hydrogen or biogas.
– And I have no doubts that PKN Orlen is best prepared to undertake and, first and foremost, effectively carry out such a task,” Obajtek concluded when asked about the concept of building a multi-energy concern.
Asked by GO! magazine “when PGNiG will become part of Orlen”, the PKN Orlen CEO replied: “We plan to complete the process by the end of this year and I am very keen to meet this deadline”.
Obajtek stressed at the same time that as part of the integration process PKN Orlen is already carrying out intensive preparatory work in the organisational and technical sphere, looking for opportunities to make the best use of resources and synergies.
The President of PKN Orlen also assured that the finalisation of the merger with PGNiG would certainly benefit the employees.
– They will gain new opportunities of development, participation in innovative projects and execution of innovative undertakings on an unprecedented scale – he announced. He also said that the merger of the two entities is a chance for development of the existing, but also for gaining completely new competences in the dynamically developing industry.
– I am convinced that the unquestionable experience and knowledge of Orlen’s personnel will be an invaluable support in the integration process,” Obajtek added when asked by the GO! Magazine what the merger with PGNiG means for the concern’s employees.
Source: PortalMorski.pl
