Poland and Germany set to cooperate closer on oil supply security
Clean Energy Wire
Germany and Poland have signed a memorandum of understanding to deepen their cooperation on oil supply security and to protect refineries in both countries, the German economy and climate ministry (BMWK) announced. The joint declaration was signed by German minister Robert Habeck and Polish Minister of Climate and Environment Anna Moskwa, and aims to safeguard the operation of the Polish refineries in Gdańsk and Płock and the east German refineries in Schwedt and Leuna so that both countries are supplied with sufficient amounts of crude oil. “There is a great need for cooperation,” said Habeck, adding that phasing out Russian crude oil was a challenge for refineries in both countries. Bilateral investments, trade and cooperation between German and Polish oil companies are encouraged “in order to maximise the use of their infrastructure and strengthen energy security,” according to the economy and climate ministry.
The German government is trying to become independent from Russian oil by the end of 2022. In 2021, about 35 percent of crude oil imports came from Russia. A report by industry expert Steffen Bukold commissioned by environmental NGO Greenpeace showed that after a ten-percent decline at the beginning of the year, Germany’s oil consumption rose again significantly in the second and third quarters despite Russia’s war in Ukraine. “The German government has made enormous efforts to find new oil dealers, but so far it has done far too little to reduce overall oil dependency," Greenpeace spokesperson Manfred Santen said. An EU embargo on Russian oil imported by sea takes effect on 5 December.
Poland and Germany agreed to intensify their cooperation on energy policy through joint projects focused on energy efficiency, renewables, infrastructure and energy market design, the countries’ energy agencies announced at the end of November. In 2021 the two countries had already agreed on launching a joint energy platform. Both governments are also working on a concept for a “cross-border energy region” comprising of western Poland and eastern Germany.
