Energy, Lithuania, Oil, Transport

"The oil product pipeline project strongly depends on Orlen's aims and it is a project of the Mazeikiai refinery. However, Klaipedos Nafta would definitely back such a project and we would seek to cooperate," Klaipedos Nafta CEO Mantas Bartuska said on Tuesday while presenting the state-controlled company's five-year strategy.

"We have had several meetings, but Orlen's aim, attitude and decisions to carry out that project are very important for us. It depends on decisions," he added.

Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland's deputy prime minister and minister for development, said last December that the issue of building an oil product pipeline between Mazeikiai, a town in northwestern Lithuania where the refinery is located, and the port of Klaipeda needed to be discussed.

Orlen Lietuva exports a considerable part of its products via Klaipeda, accounting for around 50-60% of the total throughput at Klaipedos Nafta's oil product terminal. All of the refinery's products are now transported to the port by rail.

It was reported earlier that Orlen Lietuva estimated the cost of the oil product pipeline at some 110-150 million US dollars (EUR 101-139 mln) and that it asked the Lithuanian government to support the project.

The crude refinery, which had the worst period in its history in 2013-2014, put the project on hold in the summer of 2014, saying that it had received no support from Lithuania's authorities.

Before that, Orlen pressed Lithuania to sell it control of Klaipedos Nafta or lease the terminal, but the government categorically refused to do so.