Pkn Orlen, Petrotrade Agree on Rebco Supplies to Druzhba

WARSAW. July 19 (Interfax) – Poland’s PKN Orlen has signed an agreement with the Petrotrade international trading company on the annual delivery of 2.4 million tonnes of Rebco crude to the Druzhba pipeline, PKN Orlen said.

The contract will be valid from July 1, 2007, through June 30, 2010, and may be extended for another two years or more.

Petrotrade will pay a monthly refund of 1.2 million zlotych (about $420,000) if crude deliveries reduce by more than 10% or a delay occurs, the company said. PKN Orlen may also ask for a larger refund.

Meanwhile, Russia is hurrying to construct the second line of the Baltic Pipeline System, which will become an alternative to Druzhba and deliver Russian crude bypassing Belarus.

This project was suggested in early January 2007, when Russia and Belarus had oil disagreements. Russia suspended crude deliveries to Europe through Druzhba on January 8-11, as Belarus had demanded the Russian payment of a transit duty. Eventually, an intergovernmental agreement was signed and crude supplies fully resumed.

If the project is implemented, the annual amount of crude handled by the Primorsk seaport may enlarge from 75 million tonnes to 150 million. Up to 80 million tonnes of Russian crude are being annually transported through Belarus.

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