WARSAW, June 30 (Reuters) - Eni is in talks to secure slots in the oil terminal in the Polish port of Gdansk to receive oil it processes in PCK Schwedt refinery in Germany, in which the Italian energy group owns a minority stake.
Schwedt, which has traditionally supplied 90% of the fuel used in Germany's capital Berlin, was operating at 50-60% capacity this spring after Germany stopped oil supplies from Russia due to the Ukraine war.
"A contract is being negotiated that could allow crude oil to be supplied to the Schwedt refinery from the Gdansk terminal," an Eni spokesperson said in response to Reuters questions.
The importance of the Gdansk terminal rose after Russia invaded Ukraine and volumes surged to record last year. With the last package of European Union sanctions against Moscow ending the possibility of Russian oil imports by pipeline to Germany and Poland, its role becomes crucial.
Warsaw and Berlin have declared they would not be importing oil via the Russian "Friendship" pipeline anyway, a formal prohibition from the EU allows importers to end contracts with Russia without legal consequences.
Eni, which holds 8.33% in Schwedt, has been relying on supplies on Russian crude at the refinery before the sanctions, the spokesperson said. Shell, with 37.5% stake in the refinery, is among Naftoport clients already.
Earlier this month, Kazakh state oil firm KazMunayGaz and Rosneft Deutschland signed a deal on monthly supplies of 100,000 tons of oil to Germany's Schwedt refinery until the end of 2023. (Reporting by Marek Strzelecki; editing by David Evans)
Shell (SHEL)
Eni (ENI.MI)