Orlen and Lotos to be merged?

According to the Deputy Minister of Energy Grzegorz Tobiszewski, “something is going on” in regards to merging state-controlled, WSE-listed fuel giants Lotos and Orlen. “This is a very important decision and I leave [the matter] to my ministry colleagues who are involved in this,” Tobiszowski said. Daily Rzeczpospolita wrote on Friday that works on the merger of Orlen and Lotos have gained momentum and, as a result, a “raw material giant” may be created. “The project seems to have a green light from Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who advocates strengthening the position of our corporations in the world, and from Energy Minister Krzysztof Tchórzewski, who is looking for entities that could be involved in building the first Polish nuclear power plant,” the newspaper wrote. The PKN Orlen Group manages six refineries in Poland, Czechia, and Lithuania, and conducts mining operations in Poland and Canada. Its consolidated sales revenues reached PLN 95.36 billion in 2017. The company has been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange since 1999. Grupa Lotos is a vertically integrated oil company that deals in the exploration and extraction of crude oil, its processing and wholesale and retail sale of high quality petroleum products. Consolidated revenues from sales of the Lotos Group totaled PLN 20.9 billion in 2016.