Iran Press/ Europe: Russia has halted supplies of oil to Poland via the Druzhba pipeline, PKN Orlen's (PKN.WA) CEO said on Saturday, adding that the Polish refiner would tap other sources to plug the gap.
Reporting by Marek Strzelecki; Additional reporting by Jason Hovet; Editing by Helen Popper, Frank Jack Daniel and Alexander Smith.
The supply halt via the pipeline – exempted from EU sanctions imposed on Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine – came a day after Poland delivered its first Leopard tanks to Ukraine.
“We’re effectively securing supplies. Russia has halted supplies to Poland, for which we are prepared. Only 10 percent of crude oil has been coming from Russia and we will replace it with oil from other sources,” PKN Orlen Chief Executive Daniel Obajtek wrote on Twitter.
The company said it could fully supply its refineries via sea and that the halt in pipeline supplies would not affect deliveries of petrol and diesel to its clients.
As of February, after a contract with Russia’s Rosneft expired, Orlen has been getting oil under a deal with Russia’s oil and natural gas company Tatneft.
Tatneft and Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft did not immediately make statements over the issue. 219
