Orlen positive about future of Mazeikiu refinery

"It seems like PKN Orlen is minding its own business when it comes to managing Mazeikiu," said a leading Lithuanian economic analyst Gitanas Nauseda. He went on to say that the Polish company might not fulfill its previous plans to modernize the plant. The refinery's poor results are due to a fire which destroyed the main oil processing installation in October 2006. Currently the plant is processing only a dozen tones of oil per day, while previously it was turning around 29 tones per day. Further to this, the refinery is importing more expensive oil via sea routes, as Russian suppliers closed the only pipeline to the plant. "It turns out that despite importing more expensive crude, Mazeikiu can still operate in the black. Financial results in the following months will prove it," said Dawid Piekarz, a spokesman from Orlen. He went on to say that planned investments in Mazeikiu will be carried out and it will amount to US$1 billion within five years. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B1) M.M.