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Polish energy giant PKN Orlen signs long-term deal for US LNG

25.01.2023 22:30
Poland's energy giant PKN Orlen says it has signed a long-term agreement for the purchase of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States. 
PKN Orlen CEO Daniel Obajtek (right) and former US Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette (left) in Warsaw on Wednesday, January 25, 2023.
PKN Orlen CEO Daniel Obajtek (right) and former US Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette (left) in Warsaw on Wednesday, January 25, 2023.PAP/Marcin Obara

Under the deal, PKN Orlen will be buying around 1 million tonnes of LNG per year from US company Sempra Infrastructure, officials said on Wednesday. 

The contract is for 20 years, with deliveries set to start in 2027, Polish state news agency PAP reported. 

The LNG will be purchased from the Port Arthur Terminal in the US state of Texas, according to officials. 

PKN Orlen recently acquired Poland’s state gas company PGNiG. 

Strengthening 'fuel supply security in Central and Eastern Europe'

PKN Orlen’s CEO Daniel Obajtek told reporters on Wednesday: “We are delighted to enter into this long-term agreement with Sempra Infrastructure. This is an important step towards strengthening PKN Orlen's position as a cornerstone of crude and fuel supply security in Central and Eastern Europe.”

Obajtek said: “Last year, during a very tense situation on the EU energy market, the United States became one of the main suppliers of natural gas to Poland.”

He added: “By establishing a partnership with Sempra Infrastructure, we are increasing the diversification of our import portfolio and we are securing additional volumes of natural gas, which will be used both to provide for the needs of the Polish customers and to enhance PKN Orlen's presence in the international energy market."

Obajtek later said in a tweet that the new contract could satisfy a quarter of the demand for gas among Polish consumers during the next 20 years.

‘Energy security means national security’: US ambassador

Meanwhile, Sempra Infrastructure CEO Justin Bird said: “We are excited to partner with PKN Orlen, Central Europe’s largest energy group, as they continue to look for long-term, diverse supplies of secure energy sources.”

The US ambassador to Poland, Mark Brzezinski, thanked everyone who had made the contract possible. 

He hailed Polish-US energy cooperation and stressed that “energy security means national security,” the PAP news agency reported.

(pm/gs)

Source: PAP, orlen.pl/en, semprainfrastructure.com