Orlen S.A. (PKN.WA)
- Reuters
Poland hunts for $330 million of Orlen payments for Venezuela oil, sources say
A Swiss unit of Polish refiner Orlen paid two Dubai-based intermediary companies $330 million for Venezuelan oil, but Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA never received the money, according to sources and a document seen by Reuters. Prosecutors in Poland are investigating the loss of about $400 million by Orlen Trading Switzerland (OTS) in prepayments, mostly for Venezuelan oil, in what has become a politically charged story in Warsaw. State-controlled Orlen agreed last year to buy several oil cargoes from Venezuela during a temporary softening by Washington of sanctions on the country, and sent supertankers to pick them up.
- Reuters
Orlen scraps Venezuela oil deals after heavy losses - source
WARSAW (Reuters) -Polish oil refiner Orlen has cancelled contracts to buy Venezuelan oil and refined products after losing more than $400 million on prepayments for deliveries it never received, a company manager said on Tuesday. Oil and tanker charter contracts put in place by the Swiss based unit Orlen Trading Switzerland (OTS) were scrapped as tankers weren't loading and a U.S. sanctions window was about to close, the person said. The U.S. Treasury Department in October issued a licence lifting sanctions on Venezuela's oil production and exports through mid-April, prompting trading houses to buy cargoes from little known intermediaries registered as customers of state company PDVSA.
- Reuters
Polish refiner Orlen wants former management probed, radio report says
The new management team of Polish refiner Orlen has asked prosecutors to probe its accusations that former members of the management and supervisory boards of the company acted against its interests, private Radio Zet reported on Monday. The investigation, requested in a motion to prosecutors, would be the latest related to the company, after prosecutors started examining whether it artificially lowered prices ahead of a 2023 election and sold assets at below fair value. Radio Zet recently reported that Polish special services were investigating whether Orlen Trading Switzerland (OTS), a unit of the refiner, had breached sanctions on the import of oil from Russia or Iran.
