ORLEN has signed a three-year agreement with Equinor for crude oil supplies from the Johan Sverdrup field on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Deliveries will begin in September, and the contracted volume may reach over 9 million tonnes per year, equivalent to up to one-quarter of the ORLEN Group’s annual crude oil demand. The crude will be delivered to refineries in Poland, the Czech Republic, and Lithuania, strengthening supply security across the region.

“A secure future begins with decisions made in advance. That is why we are strengthening the ORLEN Group’s access to stable sources of crude oil from Norway, which may account for up to one-quarter of our annual demand. Equinor is a reliable partner, with whom we are building a relationship based on shared responsibility for the region’s energy security. This agreement is a concrete response to global market instability and demonstrates that resilience in the energy sector is built through long-term cooperation with partners that provide predictable supplies and operational reliability” – says Ireneusz Fąfara, President of the Management Board of ORLEN.

“This agreement is another example of how energy from the Norwegian continental shelf contributes to security of supply for Europe. We are very pleased to strengthen our relationship with ORLEN through this agreement for sales of crude to their refineries in Poland, Lithuania and the Czech Republic” – says Irene Rummelhoff, executive vice president for Marketing, Midstream and Processing in Equinor.

The new agreement builds on the existing cooperation between ORLEN and Equinor and strengthens the stability of crude oil supplies to refineries in Poland, the Czech Republic, and Lithuania. Under the contract, the ORLEN Group will increase the share of crude oil sourced from a predictable Norwegian supplier, an important step amid continued volatility in the global crude oil market.

The agreement has been structured to reflect the ORLEN Group’s evolving needs. Depending on demand, annual deliveries may range from nearly 5 million tonnes to over 9 million tonnes of crude oil. This means that the contract not only secures a significant portion of the Group’s crude oil needs, but also provides flexibility to adjust delivery volumes to market conditions and the operational requirements of its refineries.

The Johan Sverdrup crude grade will form the basis of supplies under the contract. It comes from one of the largest oil fields in the world, which accounts for around one-third of Norway’s total crude oil production. At the same time, Johan Sverdrup is among the fields where production is carried out with a significant reduction in CO2 emissions, thanks to the platforms being powered by electricity from shore, sourced mainly from renewable energy. The agreement also allows for the possibility of supplying other crude grades produced from fields on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Supplies from Norway are part of ORLEN’s strategy to strengthen energy security in Poland and across the region by diversifying supply sources and working with stable, reliable partners. The importance of long-term contracts from predictable supply sources is growing, particularly amid continued volatility in global oil markets and geopolitical tensions affecting the security of transport routes.

Cooperation between ORLEN and Equinor already includes production activities on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and projects related to low-carbon solutions, among other areas. It also extends to natural gas supplies to Poland. The new crude oil supply contract further strengthens this partnership, combining security of supply, operational stability, and greater resilience across the ORLEN Group’s supply chain.

Photo: ORLEN press release