(MENAFN) The Russian pipeline transport company, Transneft, announced on Monday that it has halted the flow of oil to Poland due to a payment dispute. The company explained that it operates in accordance with the export schedule approved by the Russian Ministry of Energy, as well as the routing orders processed by freight forwarders. However, pumping to Polish refineries was scheduled for the third ten-day interval of February, and the routing orders with confirmed resource and transit payments were not processed. As a result, Transneft made operational changes to the schedule, excluding supplies for Polish consumers.
Poland's largest oil company, PKN Orlen, confirmed on Saturday that it had stopped receiving oil via the Druzhba pipeline from Russia. While the European Union banned seaborne oil imports from Russia last December, pipeline deliveries were exempted from the sanctions package in order to guarantee supplies to landlocked members of the bloc.
Poland has been receiving piped oil under a contract with Russian oil and gas company Tatneft, after a previous supply agreement with oil major Rosneft expired. According to Orlen's CEO, Daniel Obajtek, Russian oil currently accounts for 10 percent of Poland's imports after Warsaw slashed shipments from the sanctioned country. The current contract with Tatneft provides 200,000 tons of oil per month to Polish refineries and expires in December 2024.
The dispute highlights the fragility of Russia's relationship with its European trading partners, particularly in light of the ongoing sanctions regime imposed by the European Union. Russia's energy exports are a vital source of income for the country, and any disruption to its oil and gas flows to Europe could have significant economic consequences. At the same time, the European Union is keen to reduce its reliance on Russian energy imports and is actively seeking alternative sources of supply. This has led to increased investment in renewable energy and the development of new pipelines from countries such as Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan.
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