As indicated by the Supreme Audit Office, the sale of shares in Refinery Gdańsk to Aramco was below the valuation value by approximately PLN 3.5 billion. At the same time, Aramco obtained a very strong position in Rafineria Gdańska sp. z o. o., including the right to veto key strategic decisions regarding the company’s management – noted the Chamber. In her opinion, there is a risk of paralyzing the activities of the Gdańsk Refinery in the event of lack of shareholder consent regarding the strategic directions of the company’s development.
The Minister of State Assets and the Minister of Climate and Environment remained passive
In the information on the results of the audit “Implementation of activities to improve fuel security in the oil sector”, the Supreme Audit Office assessed that, taking into account the goal of improving the energy security of Poland and the region indicated by the Council of Ministers, it should be concluded that the process of merger of PKN Orlen and Grupa Lotos, taking into account remedial measures agreed between PKN Orlen and the European Commission, resulted in significant risks.
According to the Chamber, the Minister of State Assets and the Minister of Climate and Environment remained passive and thus did not ensure that these risks were minimized. Moreover, the Minister of State Assets incorrectly supervised the merger process of the companies on behalf of the State Treasury. He performed some of his duties unreliably and submitted to the Council of Ministers an application for consent to the merger of PKN Orlen with Grupa Lotos, without sufficient grounds for doing so. As a result, the State Treasury lost approximately 20% of its influence on sales directions. products produced in Polish refineries, which may cause problems in fully covering the domestic demand for these products – said the Supreme Audit Office.
Without proper supervision of the Minister of State Assets
The Supreme Audit Office also assesses that PKN Orlen carried out the process of taking over Grupa Lotos without proper supervision of the Minister of State Assets.
– There is no doubt that PKN Orlen carried out the process of taking over Grupa Lotos without proper supervision of the Minister of State Assets – said Maciej Maciejewski, director of the Department of Economy, State Treasury and Privatization of the Supreme Audit Office, at a press conference devoted to the results of the audit. He added that the sale price of assets as part of remedial measures for the takeover of Lotos was “abnormally low”, with the exception of the transaction with MOL. The Hungarian company took over 417 gas stations previously owned by Lotos.
Maciejewski emphasized that without the possibility of an inspection at Orlen, the Supreme Audit Office was unable to determine the reasons for the sale of assets at a particular price. For this reason, the Supreme Audit Office did not assess whether the merger was economically justified under the conditions of implementing the remedial measures, he noted.
Michał Wilkowicz, deputy director of the Department of Economy, State Treasury and Privatization, stated that the Supreme Audit Office found that the Minister of Assets, when submitting an application for consent to the transaction to the Council of Ministers, did not have full knowledge of the effects of the merger and its impact on the security of critical infrastructure covered by remedial measures. .
The minister had no knowledge of the terms of the transaction, did not know the results of valuations of the assets being sold and did not even try to obtain this information, Wilkowicz said. He emphasized that in the agreements with Orlen, the Minister of Assets did not provide his adviser with access to data enabling the assessment of consolidation in terms of achieving state policy goals. The minister also did not take advantage of the opportunity to include the company managing the refinery in Gdańsk in the list of entities covered by protection, and then it would be the controlling body for the transaction – noted the deputy director.
