OREANDA-NEWS. This year, Grupa LOTOS’s refinery in Gda?sk has further diversified its sources of crude oil supplies. The new crude is produced at the Lubiat?w gas and oil production facility managed by PGNiG.
In the past, crude oil was brought to the refinery over the Druzhba pipeline and by sea, through Naftoport. Now the feedstock is also supplied by rail. Rail supplies are performed by LOTOS Kolej, one of the largest freight carriers in Poland.  

The first months of processing have confirmed that key advantages of the crude oil supplied by PGNiG include its low sulfur content and large share of light gasoline fractions. 

“This crude oil is produced from Polish fields and I am glad that our Polish trade partner, PGNiG, is developing domestic production and supplying us with light, high-quality, low-sulfur oil, which we process together with other crudes, thus maximising and optimising our production,” says Marek Soko?owski, Vice-President and Chief Operation Officer of Grupa LOTOS S.A.

“Crude oil production has for many years been an important area of PGNiG’s operations. We are glad to have secured such a prominent customer for our crude oil and that the oil we produce will be processed at the Grupa LOTOS refinery in Gda?sk,” saysBart?omiej Korzeniewski, Director of the Wholesale Trading Division of PGNiG S.A. 

In 2013, LOTOS and PGNiG signed a five-year contract for the supplies of crude oil from PGNiG’s domestic production facilities. The majority of the feedstock supplied by PGNiG to the refinery in Gda?sk is produced at Lubiat?w, the largest oil production facility in Poland. Under the contract, crude oil will be supplied to Grupa LOTOS in 2015–2019, with the option to extend the contract for an indefinite term. The volume of PGNiG’s single delivery is approximately 1.5 thousand tonnes, and the contracted volumes make it possible to dispatch a rail consignment every two days. The acceptance and processing of oil in Gda?sk are supported by a dedicated unloading terminal with an annual capacity of 0.5m tonnes. The contract provides for supplying to Grupa LOTOS of approximately 275 thousand tonnes of crude per year.
 
The oil is transported to Gda?sk from the railway sidings of the PGNiG Branch in Zielona G?ra by LOTOS Kolej. This is not the only form of the carrier’s cooperation with PGNiG. In addition, LOTOS Kolej has taken over comprehensive shunting services at the PGNiG railway sidings in Barn?wko (Szczecin Province) and Wierzbno (Zielona G?ra Province). LOTOS Kolej also transports sulfur produced at Lubiat?w to the production plant of Grupa Azoty Zak?ady Chemiczne Police.