Despite heavy criticism: Poland merges major oil companies

In Poland, the planned merger of the oil giants PKN Orlen and Lotos is on the verge of completion. This draws sharp criticism. Because as a result, the influence of two corporations grows in Poland, which are said to be closer to Russia.

Piotr Naimski, the government plenipotentiary for critical energy infrastructure, was also considered a competent figure by PiS opponents. Following his resignation in the middle of the week, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki confirmed that he is the country’s best energy expert. It’s not official – and yet many observers in political Warsaw are certain: Naimski is leaving as he rejects the major merger of state oil giants Lotto and PKN Orlen. He was considered the biggest silent critic of the merger. Because official statements are not documented.

Fusion has been pushed to four years

Opposition politicians such as Razem Left Party MP Adrian Zandberg are more talkative. He expressed “serious doubts about the merger, whether it would be safe for Poland in the long run, and I am not alone in this, as apparently the controversy over it was one of the reasons why there was a spectacular dismissal yesterday.”

The merger of state-controlled oil companies has been ongoing since 2018 – a major merger that also raised antitrust issues. So the EU Commission issued strict conditions. Advocates of the merger say it would create an oil giant that can play its role around the world, not be dictated by purchase prices, that can handle huge upheaval and investments in the energy sector.

Orlen Boss Obajtek. headwind for

Current Orlen boss Daniel Obajtek, a close follower of PIS boss Kaczynski, said: “We are building a multi-energy corporation capable of energy transformation, capable of investing in research and development, but also capable of developing petrochemicals. Is.” The head of the group explained that it would no longer be able to rely on fuel, “but on petrochemicals”. Objtec is often ridiculed by his opponents as mayor of Pcim. He was the mayor of a small town when Kaczynski discovered him. Under PIS, however, they made rapid progress in the state-controlled energy sector.

Now, just before the finish, the headwind seems huge. Because the new group has a lot to sell: the Hungarian MOL is thought to have hundreds of gas stations, parts of a refinery considered ultra-modern and thus the heart of Polish energy infrastructure for Saudi Aramco. Fund manager David Zopeck, who is critical of the merger, said on Polish television: “No one forbade the two companies, namely Lotos and Orlen, from working together, investing in wind farms together, or buying fuel together. But this merger is harmful, for our state also.”

Concerns about proximity to Russia

Because both the Hungarian MOL and the Saudis are said to be dangerously close to Russia. Given recent international developments, it was a call that has been heard over and over again, but clearly not heeded, that it would be better to leave it alone. It’s primarily a business, he says. Critics such as former economics minister Piotr Wozniak do not accept this. Hasn’t Angela Merkel repeatedly emphasized that the “Nord Stream” is a purely economic project?