Page 4 - Euroil Week 28 2020

EurOil COMMENTARY EurOil
Poland pushes on with
energy mega-merger
Poland is merging four energy companies to create a giant with $51bn in annual turnover
POLAND
WHAT:
PaPolish PKN Orlen has got EU approval to buy rival Lotos, and has signed a preliminary deal to acquire Polish gas monopoly PGNiG
WHY:
Poland wants to create an energy giant with international clout.
WHAT NEXT:
The takeover of PGNiG could take a year.
THE European Commission conditionally cleared the merger of listed Polish re ners PKN Orlen and Grupa Lotos on July 14. e approval takes Poland one step closer to realising its goal of creating an oil, gas and power giant with international clout from four of its main energy companies.
Poland has long said it would like to merge its two re ning companies to create a “multi- national company with a global reach”, Poland’s state assets ministry said in a statement. Also on July 14, PKN Orlen announced signing a letter of intent for the next merger, with the oil and gas company PGNiG, which the Commission will likely have to investigate, as it did in the case of the Lotos merger. It also acquired power utility Energa earlier this year.
e merger with Lotos is conditional on a
number of commitments that PKN Orlen will have to meet.
e company will need to divest a 30% stake in a Lotos’ re nery in Gdansk with the purchaser having the right to approximately half of the re nery’s diesel and gasoline production, while also giving the purchaser access to storage and logistics infrastructure.
PKN Orlen will also have to divest nine fuel storage depots to an independent logistics oper- ator and to build a new jet fuel import terminal in Szczecin, which would be transferred to the independent logistics operator on completion.
Most of the capacity booked by Lotos at inde- pendent storage depots, including the capac- ity booked at Poland’s biggest terminal for the import of fuels by sea, will have to be released.
PKN Orlen will also have to divest 389 retail
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 28 16•July•2020