PGNiG Reduces Gas Supply To Pulawy, PKN Orlen
WARSAW -(Dow Jones)- Gas monopoly Polskie Gornictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo (PGN.WA), or PGNiG, has reduced natural gas supplies to chemical maker Pulawy (ZAP.WA) and oil refiner PKN Orlen (PKN.WA), the company said in a statement.
Anwil, PKN's chemicals unit, consumes 500 million cubic meters of gas per year, but it is conducting a maintenance shutdown of one of its fertilizer production lines, reducing its demand for gas.
"If the crisis last longer, Anwil will simply delay reopening its second line," said PKN spokesman Dawid Piekarz. The line is scheduled to restart at the end of January.
The Plock-based refiner also uses gas to heat its installations, but has begun shifting to using its own products, such as heating oil, for this purpose as of Wednesday, Piekarz said.
Using its own products dents PKN's profitability, analysts say.
Chemical makers and PKN Orlen account for 22% of Poland's 13.5 billion cubic meters of gas consumption.
-By Marek Strzelecki and Marynia Kruk, Dow Jones Newswires; +4822 528 6771; marek.strzelecki@dowjones.com
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