LONDON/WARSAW, Sept 15 (Reuters) – Polish integrated oil firm Orlen is rushing to find crude oil cargoes from the North Sea and further afield to replace disrupted Saudi imports, five industry sources told Reuters.
Orlen is one of the major European term customers of Saudi crude oil, but an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East – including Yemeni Houthi attacks against Saudi installations – has left the Polish firm seeking alternative supplies in recent days.
Orlen purchased several cargoes of crude oil in spot tenders on Friday and Monday, the sources said. It picked up North Sea grades including Grane, Johan Sverdrup and Johan Castberg, two of the traders said.
It also tendered for grades further afield including U.S. WTI Midland and Kazakh CPC Blend, two sources added.
No further details were available and the tender results could not be directly confirmed with the counterparties. Orlen declined to comment on details of specific commercial transactions, but said it actively manages its supply portfolio to ensure the uninterrupted operation of its refining assets.
“Adjusting and optimising purchase volumes is a standard, ongoing part of the Orlen Group’s operations, driven by both current production needs and changing market conditions,” an Orlen spokesperson said.
Currently, feedstock deliveries to Orlen refineries are proceeding without disruption, the spokesperson said.
(Reporting by Robert Harvey in London and Marek Strzelecki in Warsaw; Editing by Susan Fenton)
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