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Poland’s PKN Orlen interested in Russia’s diesel, gasoil local companies at low prices, Bulgaria’s
President Rumen Radev said in a statement
Schwedt refinery once Rosneft shipments to Turkey said to hit on March 11.
Radev held an online meeting with
is pushed out record high his Azeri counterpart, Ilham Aliyev. The
Bulgarian president was supposed to visit
Poland’s fuels and energy giant PKN Orlen Russia’s diesel and gasoil shipments to Baku but cancelled his visit following a
would be interested in taking over the Turkey hit a record high in February, positive test for coronavirus (COVID-19).
Schwedt refinery in Germany as soon as information from traders and Refinitiv data The opening of SOCAR’s office in
Rosneft, the Russian company that holds a reportedly show. Bulgaria was agreed by the former
70% stake in the facility, is pushed out of it, The new peak, which could reach 1mn government of Kiril Petkov last year as
PKN Orlen’s CEO Daniel Obajtek hinted on tonnes, came as traders rerouted cargoes part of the efforts for achieving energy
March 12. after the European Union imposed a ban on independence from Russia.
The refinery in Schwedt has an annual Russian oil products, Reuters said on March In 2022, Azerbaijan supplied 600mn
processing capacity of 12mn tonnes of 10 in reporting the figures. cubic metres (mcm) of natural gas to
crude oil and supplies fuels to north-eastern Turkey usually receives diesel from the Bulgaria, Azerbaijani Energy Minister
Germany, including Berlin, and western Russian Black Sea ports of Novorossiysk, Parviz Shahbazov said. The amount of gas
Poland. Tuapse and Taman. Volumes from these exported to Bulgaria in 2022 was 210%
Following Germany’s halting of supplies ports, as well as volumes from the Baltic higher compared to the 280 mcm exported
via the Druzhba pipeline, however, ports of Primorsk, Ust-Luga and Vysotsk, in 2021.
Schwedt’s operations have been in question. meant the diesel and gasoil volume doubled. Bulgaria started receiving increased
PKN Orlen has long offered to step in and The final destinations of some cargoes volumes of natural gas from Azerbaijan
buy the refinery but not when its main were said to remain unclear, with Reuters after the completion of the Greece-Bulgaria
stakeholder is a Russian company. reporting one trader as saying: “It looks like gas interconnector. The agreed volume of
“It’s hard for me to look at a refinery Turkey could increase its own diesel exports gas to Bulgaria is 1bn cubic metres (bcm)
where I would have a 70% partner such as after a big Russian inflow.” per year, which is one third of the country’s
Rosneft,” Obajtek said, according to Poland’s The EU applied a full embargo on annual consumption. However, Azerbaijan
state-run newswire PAP. Russian oil products on February 5. That has said it is ready to increase the supplies
Meanwhile, the Schwedt refinery is meant Russian diesel cargoes were shipped after developing the other deposits in the
expected to receive some 100,000 tonnes to Africa and Asia instead of Europe. Caspian Sea.
of crude oil via the Druzhba pipeline from
Kazakhstan in March.
While Rosneft remains a key stakeholder Azerbaijan’s SOCAR to open Earthquake consequences
in the refinery, Germany’s government
placed the Russian company’s refining office in Bulgaria, increase gas delay Turkey’s Black Sea gas
business under state trusteeship in
September, arguing that the step was supplies production launch
necessary to shore up energy security.
Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR Turkey’s plan to start Black Sea natural gas
will open an office in Bulgaria in May and production by the end of March may be
is ready to provide cheap natural gas to delayed by up to a month because required

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