What goes on in Poland on the 15th of January.
PKN Orlen intends to take full control of Czech-based Unipetrol
PKN Orlen, holding a 62.9% equity interest in Unipetrol a.s., has launched a conditional voluntary tender offer for shares in the Czech company. The offer is conditional on PKN ORLEN acquiring at least 90% of Unipetrol’s share capital.
Ultimately, PKN Orlen aims to buy all Unipetrol shares and have the company delisted from the Prague Stock Exchange. The transaction is in line with the Group’s strategy for 2017–2021, which envisages integration of refining assets, extension of the petrochemical value chain, and development of the retail network.
Unipetrol a.s. is the largest refining and petrochemical group in the Czech Republic. It owns the refineries in Litvínov and Kralupy, the largest local retail chain Benzina (400 service stations), and Spolana, the sole PVC and caprolactam manufacturer on the Czech market. The company’s core asset is its Litvínov petrochemical operations – now the construction site for a polyethylene unit, the country’s largest petrochemical project to date.
Over 5 million cubic meters of gas have been delivered to the Polish LNG terminal
Counting from the first delivery to the President Lech Kaczyński LNG terminal in Świnoujście in December 2015, facility has received more than 5 million cubic meters of LNG.
The discharge of another LNG carrier, that arrived at the terminal on 8th of January 2018 has been completed. The vessel, LNG carrier of Q-Flex type, brought over 200 thousand cubic meters of LNG. By far, such tankers have appeared at the shores of Świnoujście once a month, on average. In 2018 the frequency of discharges is going to be doubled. Simultaneously, the LNG terminal is under an expansion project. This venture is a part of a complex development strategy implemented by GAZ-SYSTEM Capital Group.
Following a development of an existing system of SCV’s, providing the change of the natural gas state from liquid into gas, with subsequent units, the regasification capacity of the terminal will be increased from current 5 bcm up to 7.5 bcm of natural gas on a yearly basis. Such quantity allows to fulfill almost a half of Poland’s demand for this energy resource.
Furthermore, the extension project consists of construction of another quay, which will provide other services, i.e. loading and unloading of small and medium carriers, LNG transshipment (from the vessel moored at the existing jetty), LNG loading into bunkering vessels and direct bunkering.