By Markus Wacket and Marek Strzelecki
BERLIN/WARSAW - Germany has received confirmation that commercial crude oil deliveries for the PCK Schwedt refinery are expected in the Polish port of Gdansk in January, the economy ministry told Reuters.
A tanker, expected to carry 100,000 tonnes of oil, will be delivered via Gdansk and further via the Polish pipeline system to Schwedt before the end of January, a source familiar with the matter on the Polish side said.
Bigger volumes, in line with earlier discussions, are planned to be shipped via Gdansk as of February, the source added.
"I can confirm, that deliveries of crude oil for Schwedt via Gdansk are scheduled for end of January," a spokeswoman at the German economy ministry said in response to questions from Reuters. She declined to comment on the details of the deliveries, as these were subject to contracts between the companies.
The delivery follows months of talks between Berlin and Warsaw to secure supply for Schwedt, which provides 90% of Berlin's fuel. It also comes after a memorandum between the two governments ensuring supplies and the future ownership structure of the refinery would not benefit Russia, a condition Poland has been vocal about.
Higher capacity utilization and diesel yields from Schwedt are in focus in Poland and Germany, as Europe gets ready for a ban on Russian diesel that comes into force on Feb. 5, tightening supplies.
From the start of January the Schwedt refinery has been working at 50% of capacity as supplies from Russia have been eliminated. Germany said in December that Poland committed to provide enough crude for it to run at 70% capacity from January.
Germany, in September, took control of the Schwedt refinery, which was majority owned by Russia's Rosneft, as part of efforts to shore up the country's energy supply. Schwedt's co-shareholders are oil major Shell and Italy's Eni.
