Shares in Lotos’ refinery will be acquired by Saudi Aramco, part of Lotos’ petrol stations will be bought by MOL, and fuel logistics will be handled by Unimot, PKN Orlen said at a press conference. – This is a complete break away from the post-Soviet division of spheres of influence in oil imports because the strategic partner is no longer Russia, but Saudi Arabia – said Tomasz Sakiewicz, editor-in-chief of “Gazeta Polska” in TVP Info.
The PKN Orlen said on Wednesday that Saudi Aramco will buy shares in Lotos’ refinery, MOL will buy 417 Lotos stations and Unimot will buy fuel depots. The price in the preliminary agreement for shares in Lotos Asfalt to be paid by Aramco, set at about 1.15 billion PLN.
PKN Orlen also said it would buy 144 petrol stations in Hungary and 41 petrol stations in Slovakia from MOL. The price to be paid by PKN Orlen for 144 stations in Hungary and 41 stations in Slovakia is approximately EUR 229 million.
“First of all, contrary to what others say, it is a complete break away from the post-Soviet division of spheres of influence in oil imports, because the strategic partner is no longer Russia, but Saudi Arabia,” said Tomasz Sakiewicz in TVP Info.
“Saudi Aramco is the largest oil company in the world, but also the largest oil supplier. And with the signing of the agreement with the largest Polish concern at the moment, strategic cooperation begins with Saudi Arabia in the supply of oil, which guarantees our independence from Russian supplies,” he emphasized.
“We saw that Donald Tusk wanted to stop this, claiming that it was pushing us into the hands of the Russians, and it happened exactly the opposite. Today we ended Russian influence in our region. A strong company is created, capable of large purchases and is a partner for the largest ones, and now enters into strategic cooperation with Saudi Aramco,” he added.