Poland's Orlen to seek damages from Russia for halting oil deliveries

PKN Orlen, a Polish oil and gas conglomerate, will seek contractual penalties from Russia's Tatneft after oil deliveries were stopped at the end of February, Orlen's CEO has said.

Daniel Obajtek confirmed to the private radio station Radio Zet on Monday that his company was going to seek compensation.

"Everything is in contracts that I can't talk about," Obajtek said. "We'll certainly seek damages within our claims."

Russia suspended oil deliveries via the Druzhba pipeline to Poland on February 25, a day after the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

PKN Orlen told PAP after the flow of oil was stopped that the company was prepared for such an eventuality, and that deliveries to its refineries would continue in tankers.

According to the company, Russian oil had satisfied only about 10 percent of Orlen's requirements since the company decided not to prolong its previous contract with Russia's oil giant Rosneft in early February.

The deliveries were carried out solely by pipeline and were not covered by international sanctions, Orlen added.

The company also said it had stopped purchasing oil delivered by sea and finished petroleum products from Russia at the beginning of Russia's war in Ukraine.

The North Sea, West Africa, the Mediterranean, the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Mexico are now the main regions for oil deliveries to the company's refineries.

In 2015, Russian oil constituted close to 100 percent of total oil deliveries to the company, Orlen added.

Orlen's only remaining contract with a Russian oil provider, Tatneft, expires at the end of 2024. However, imports may be halted earlier if they are covered by EU sanctions, the company said.