WARSAW, April 30. /TASS/. The operator of the Druzhba pipeline’s Polish stretch, PERN, will be able to calculate any possible losses from the recent suspension of supplies due to polluted oil only after the pipeline’s operation is put back on track, a source in the company’s press service told TASS on Tuesday.
"PERN is focused on the most important issues of guaranteeing the safety of its transmission and its customer support system. It will be possible to calculate all incurred expenses only following the completion of all restoration works," the company said.
"PERN delivers products acquired by refineries, the quality of which is guaranteed by its agreement with the producer," the press service emphasized, adding that the company "is not a direct party to the trade agreements signed by the conglomerates."
PERN pumps around 50 mln tonnes of oil from Russia annually, manages a chain of oil pipelines stretching 2,600 kilometers and has at its disposal storage facilities with a capacity of 3.5 mln cubic meters and an oil port in Gdansk with a capacity of 40 mln tonnes of oil per year. PERN supplies two refineries in Poland - to Orlan in Plock and Lotos in Gdansk, as well as to two refineries in Germany - in Schwedt and Spergau.
Meanwhile, the Polish refining company Lotos is studying the provisions of established contracts and legislation amid the temporary absence of oil supplies. "Due to the current situation, the Lotos Group is considering adequate solutions in compliance with the current agreements and legislative provisions," the company’s press service reported when asked whether Lotos intends to lodge a claim over the suspended oil supplies.
The company’s focus is to ensure consistent oil deliveries for maintaining the operation of the refinery, Lotos stressed. "Keeping in mind the prosperity of our clients, providing our stations with the finest quality of fuel has always been our top priority," the press service noted.
Lotos Group is the second largest fuel refiner in Poland. Its core business is the production and processing of crude oil, as well as wholesale and retail sale of oil products, such as fuels (unleaded gasoline, diesel oil and light fuel oil), heavy fuel oil, bitumens, aviation fuel, naphtha, propane-butane LPG and base oils.
On April 19, the Belarusian petrochemical company Belneftekhim reported a sharp deterioration in the quality of the Russian oil running through the pipeline. Both Belarusian refineries - the Mozyr refinery (Gomel region) and Naftan (Vitebsk region) - reported the risk of equipment facing damage and almost halved the refining volumes. On April 23, Belarus was forced to halt exports of light oil products to Ukraine, Poland and Baltic countries due to deliveries of poor quality oil.
Poland, Germany, Ukraine and Slovakia suspended crude oil supplies from Russia through the Druzhba oil pipeline. The pollutant was revealed at the Samara-Unecha section. Russia’s Energy Ministry referred to technical issues as the reason for the contamination of the oil, saying that the problem would be ironed out quickly.
On April 29, Russian oil meeting the technical regulations reached the Unecha delivery station of the Druzhba pipeline near the Belarusian border.