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Saturday, 20.04.2024, 04:59
Poland plans to boost shipments by Lithuanian railways
"As far as I was informed, and today we are going to discuss it,
Poland plans to sharply increase shipments from the Mazeikiai plant by
Lithuanian railways in the direction of Poland. We'll discuss the
conditions," Skvernelis, on a visit to Poland, told.
He is scheduled to meet with Daniel Obajtek, CEO of Poland's
oil group Orlen, in Krynica later in
the day.
Skvernelis and Obajtek will discuss progress in implementing
a cooperation declaration signed by the Lithuanian government and the
Polish group last March.
According to the document, Orlen
will invest in the Mazeikiai refinery and will not cut jobs, and the
government, on its part, will review Public Service Obligation (PSO) tariffs
for the company and will look at possibilities for building a product
pipeline to Klaipeda.
Skvernelis said that the product pipeline project can and has to be
developed.
"There are still details as to the product pipeline that need to be
worked out, such as how possible losses by Lietuvos
Gelezinkeliai (Lithuanian Railways)
will be compensated for," the Lithuanian prime minister said.
"To my knowledge, Lietuvos
Gelezinkeliai and PKN Orlen and Orlen Lietuva have been holding
successful talks. There can be various compensation mechanisms," he
said.
Poland raised the idea of building a product pipeline between Mazeikiai
and the port of Klaipeda, through which Orlen
Lietuva exports a considerable part of its products, back in 2006, when Orlen purchased the refinery, which
was then named Mazeikiai Nafta (Mazeikiai Oil).
Orlen Lietuva, which
was going through the worst time in its history in 2013 and 2014, suspended the
project in the summer of 2014, saying that it had not received support
from Lithuania's authorities.