Saudi Aramco closes 3 transactions with PKN ORLEN in Poland

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Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Saudi Aramco) sealed three landmark transactions with Polish refiner and fuel retailer PKN ORLEN, through its subsidiary Aramco Overseas Company BV, based in the Netherlands.

As part of the transaction, first announced in January 2022, Saudi Aramco acquired equity stakes of 30% in a 210,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) refinery in Gdansk, 100% in an associated wholesale business and 50% in a plane fuel marketing joint venture with BP Europa SE. The latter operates in seven airports in Poland, following PKN ORLEN’s merger with Grupa LOTOS, according to a statement.

The agreements represent a significant milestone in Saudi Aramco’s long-term strategy to grow its integrated refining and petrochemicals capacity, and expand its product portfolio across the entire hydrocarbon value chain.

It indicated that the transactions also seek to establish a solid foundation for further business development. They aim to complement its strategy to expand its liquids to chemicals capacity to up to four million bpd.

Mohammed Al Qahtani, Saudi Aramco's Senior Vice President of Downstream, said, “These investments are part of our efforts towards cementing Aramco’s presence in a key European market, and provide a unique opportunity to develop new liquids to chemicals pathways, with hopes of expanding our global downstream footprint and supporting the diversification of our portfolio."

"At the same time, we aspire to continue developing our product portfolio through our ongoing downstream transformation strategy," he added.

Saudi Aramco and PKN ORLEN have also entered into a crude oil sales agreement, pursuant to which the former will supply approximately 45% of PKN ORLEN’s crude oil requirements.

In addition, Saudi Aramco, Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) and PKN ORLEN have signed a joint development agreement to assess the technical and economic feasibility of a potential petrochemical project in Gdansk.