Piotr Naimski made the statement on Friday in an interview with private broadcaster Radio Wnet, according to Polish state news agency PAP.
Naimski, who is the government's commissioner for strategic energy infrastructure, said, according to PAP: “It is our intention to terminate the oil contracts, and this is absolutely realistic.”
He added that “everyone who produces oil can be a supplier for Poland” and that “oil can be shipped from anywhere in the world in less than 20 days.”
Poland 'ready to switch to other sources of oil'
According to Naimski, around 60 percent of the oil used by Polish refineries comes from Russia, under contracts signed before Putin invaded Ukraine.
He said on Friday that, "in the event of an embargo on Russian imports," the refineries in the central Polish city of Płock and the northern port city of Gdańsk were “100 percent ready to switch to other sources of oil," the PAP news agency reported.
Naimski was also cited as saying that new contracts could be pricier as many customers worldwide would be looking for new suppliers.
“But it’s worth bearing that cost given the threat from Russia, and the victims in Ukraine make that necessary,” he said, as quoted by PAP.
Replacing Russian gas
Naimski also said in the interview that Poland would launch the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline from Norway as planned on October 1, PAP reported.
Coupled with an existing LNG terminal in the northwestern city of Świnoujście and interconnectors, the new pipeline will allow Poland “to replace gas bought previously from the Russian energy giant Gazprom,” Naimski added.
He asserted that Poland was “technically prepared to secure all the gas the economy needs, and more.”
Naimski’s words came after Poland announced a plan to renounce Russian coal, oil and gas by the end of the year.
EU embargo on Russian oil?
Meanwhile, the European Union’s executive is preparing to ban Russian oil in the latest round of sanctions against the Kremlin for its invasion of Ukraine, the PAP news agency reported.
Such punitive measures require unanimity from all 27 member states of the EU.
Friday is day 58 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, pb.pl