European Commission supports Orlen in dispute over Możejki

Lithuanian Railways have restricted competition by disassembling railway tracks linking Lithuania with Latvian city Renge, the European Commission announced. As a result, PKN Orlen was prevented from the possibility of choosing a cheaper operator to transport oil to the North. PKN Orlen has been campaigning for reconstruction of the railway tracks since 2008. According to analysts, the European Commission statement changes little. “I do not think that the actions undertaken by the EC will bring change in Lithuanian Railways policy and solve logistics problems, which Możejki refinery has been grappling with for years,” Flawiusz Pawluk, UniCredit CAIB Poland analyst, was quoted as saying by Polish daily Rzeczpospolita. Only a final EC decision and financial penalty can force the Lithuanian company to change the policy. It may take years, he adds. PKN Orlen pays 30 percent more than its competitors for oil transport. It has no alternative as the Lithuanian Railways disassembled a 19 km long railway track linking Możejki refinery with Latvia.