The former president of PGNiG leaves no stone unturned on Daniil Obajtic. “horror”

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During the month, the average price of PB95 gasoline in Poland fell by PLN 0.59, the Polish Chamber of Liquid Fuels reported on Wednesday. In contrast, the average price of diesel fuel decreased by PLN 0.42 to PLN 6.05 per litre. This happens at the same time Within three months, the value of the zloty against the dollar weakened by up to 8%, and the price of a barrel of oil rose from June 75 to nearly $95. It is worth noting that oil purchase transactions are settled in dollars.

These moves were sharply commented on in an interview with money.pl conducted by Piotr Wozniak, former Minister of Economy during the PiS government and Chairman of the Board of Polskie Górnictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo in 2016-2020, i.e. also during the United Right government.

State institutions regarding fuel prices in Poland are not working. The Bureau of Competition and Consumer Protection and the Bureau of Energy Regulation do nothing about it. These two offices will only bend their fingers and the situation will return to normal. This is what strong national institutions that can impose sanctions should look like in this case. Not only the company, but also the people who personally take such actions, i.e. the board of directors. Unfortunately, our reality is different – Woźniak tells us.

He believes that Daniel Obajtic’s action is a “clear electoral move.” – We have now intensified agricultural activities in the countryside, such as digging and plowing. All this requires huge amounts of diesel – He convinces. When asked if the government wanted to buy the village politically in this way, he replied: “naturally”.

Woźniak also warns about what happened at Lake Balaton a year ago.

We are threatened by the Hungarian scenario. That would be horror – says Piotr Wozniak.

Let us remember that Viktor Orban froze fuel prices before last year’s elections so effectively that the stations eventually ran out of fuel, and when he restored prices to normal, an economic crisis broke out. The inflation rate was well above 20 percent, This prompted the head of the local central bank to publicly criticize Fidesz’s economic policyWhich had never happened to him before.

Daniel Obajtic then warned that this was a practice It is bound to lead to a crisis sooner or later.

– If this decision continues and people know that after the elections we will witness a sharp rise in fuel prices, we will certainly face the risk of fuel shortages at the stations. Demand will outstrip supply. They will buy big. If someone had a brother-in-law at the station, the farmer, for example, would fill the drums with a thousand liters of fuel, so why wouldn’t he do that when the stock was completely exhausted anyway. The current price is very high compared to the market forecast of 8 PLN – more than 2 PLN per liter – says the former president of PGNiG.

According to him, Orbán’s mistakes will be repeated in any case. What will be visible in stores.

– Now, thanks to these measures, inflation will decrease, but later, when fuel prices rise, inflation will accelerate. People will not suddenly stop driving cars. The farmer will not stop using fuel in agriculture, because it is what he makes his living from. His profitability will decrease significantly, but he will have to buy fuel – Points to our interlocutor.

The next step from the point of view of such behavior should be to increase fuel subsidies for farmers. “I don’t understand why the authorities don’t do this,” adds Piotr Vuniak.

When asked whether, in his opinion, Orlen’s current moves are harmful to the company, Pyotr Vuniak answered: “Yes.” – An auditor should be admitted there to check what margin the company had previously and what it has today – Believes.

At this point, we should stress that since Q2, Orlean has not posted a typical petrochemicals margin. The company report states that it has been “temporarily suspended due to a formula update.”

Piotr Vuniak strongly disagrees with this approach. – In my opinion, they just don’t want to publish it. If you asked them why they didn’t do it, they would likely answer that their pencil was broken, or that they had to buy a sharpener, or borrow money for a sharpener. This is an excuse – He summarizes, adding that the Financial Supervision Bureau must assume control of the company.

– Wozniak says: – It was not possible to convince observers with such simple slogans.

Grażyna Piotrowska-Oliwa, also a former president of PGNiG, has a similar opinion. According to her, the fuel market in the country is turbulent.

– Simply compare retail prices with those determined by the market. That is why we are threatened by the Hungarian scenario. When importing fuel in bulk is not profitable because it cannot be sold at the terminal at that price later, no company will incur losses. It will be like what happened in Lake Balaton, where private gas stations were closed due to the lack of sufficient fuel and the unprofitability of importing it. – says the expert in an interview with money.pl.

What worries the former PGNiG president most is the possibility of Orlen using emergency reserves. According to her, this would be a violation of the purpose of the Strategic Reserves Law, which aims to ensure the security of the state.

Piotrowska-Oliwa, like Piotr Woźniak, believes that Daniel Obajtek’s current behavior “works to the company’s detriment.” However, he does not expect PiS to bear responsibility for this. In addition, this is an extremely anti-competitive activity, which the Competition and Consumer Bureau does not want to draw attention to, he concludes.

Orlene in recent weeks He constantly rejects accusations of “politicizing” prices fuel and keep it at a lower level.

“Fuel prices, not only in Poland, but throughout Europe, depend on the prices of final fuel products on European stock exchanges. In addition, fuel prices in individual markets and in the supply of specific suppliers are also influenced, among other things, by energy sources.” Fuel Raw material costs, financial burdens, production and service costs, including energy, logistics and labor costs.

Tuesday, September 26, Orlen It stated that it “does not plan to introduce refueling limits at its stations or change its pricing policy.”

“Barring unforeseen market fluctuations or events, there is no reason for fuel prices to rise sharply in the coming weeks or for there to be shortages,” the company said.