Capital expenditure

Investments made by ORLEN Group companies include projects aimed at reducing environmental impacts of the existing business segments as well as driving green growth of new business areas.

GRI Disclosures:

SDGs:

  • Goal 6
  • Goal 7
  • Goal 11
  • Goal 12
  • Goal 13

Capitals:

  • 103-1
  • 103-2
  • 103-3

PKN ORLEN is dedicated to the development of renewable energy sources. Along with other entities, including ORLEN Południe, it has signed an agreement to step up activities in the area of biogas and biomethane. The development of this segment of the renewable energy sector will play an important role in increasing Poland’s energy security and reducing imports of energy resources. This is yet another initiative of PKN ORLEN aligned with the ORLEN 2030 strategy  objective of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. ORLEN Południe, a member of the ORLEN Group, has signed a contract for the construction of UCO (used cooking oils) and FAME (fatty acid methyl esters) production and distillation lines in Trzebinia; the new facilities will convert vegetable oils and animal fats into 30,000 tonnes of esters and 7,000 tonnes of glycerine annually. Deployment of the related innovative and environmentally friendly solutions will mark yet another milestone in the process to transform ORLEN Południe into a state-of-the-art biorefinery and also step up development of alternative fuel lines, which is one of the ORLEN Group’s strategic objectives. The investment project in Trzebinia, with a value estimated at approximately PLN 127.5m, will be completed in the first quarter of 2023. Importantly, the project is also aligned with the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive II, offering special incentives to encourage the processing and reuse of waste products, and will contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions, in line with the National Reduction Target.

In 2021, as part of the process to adapt its petrochemical units to the best available techniques (BAT) for large volume organic chemicals (LVOC), PKN ORLEN completed construction of a continuous flue gas monitoring system at the olefin furnaces and the paraxylene unit. In 2021, the necessary decisions were obtained for the construction of a Claus unit for gaseous hydrogen sulphide treatment and shell Claus off-gas treatment (SCOT) unit for tail gas treatment (TGTU). In addition, a new tank with a capacity of 10,000 m3 and a floating roof is under construction at the sewage treatment plant of the Płock production plant, which will reduce fugitive emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and limit the odour nuisance from open storage reservoirs.

Steps were taken to prepare the Płock production plant for co-hydrogenation of vegetable oils (VO) and used cooking oils (UCO) to achieve the National Indicative Target of 8.5% of fuel biocomponent production.

PKN ORLEN has been also implementing solar photovoltaic projects.

In 2021, work was under way to construct a solar PV plant at the CCGT unit site in Włocławek and on PKN ORLEN’s site in Płock.

Line drainage system and water supply/sewerage/sanitary connections were constructed, and washers and separators were installed at PKN ORLEN distribution facilities (at newly constructed facilities in new locations or at existing purchased/leased facilities being adapted to the Company’s standards). At PKN ORLEN’s fuel terminals, wastewater treatment systems were upgraded and vapour recovery systems were installed for handling operations.

PKN ORLEN expanded its leak detection and repair (LDAR) system to cover more production units, this time in the petrochemical section of the Płock and Włocławek production plants. Hence, the relevant requirements of Best Available Techniques were fully met in a timely manner. The purpose of the project is to identify, monitor and reduce diffuse emissions of volatile organic compounds, thereby contributing to the reduction of the plant’s environmental impact and feedstock and product losses, as well as to improving the process safety and staff’s working conditions. Roughly 170,000 potential emission points were examined at 16 production units as part of the implementation activities in the petrochemical section of the Płock and Włocławek production plants. Importantly, the examination showed a very low leak rate of less than 1% at the petrochemical units.

A number of investment projects were carried out in ORLEN Lietuva process units where high-pressure steam was replaced with low-pressure steam, thus reducing the consumption of gas fuel. Upgrade of the heat exchangers and sealing of the heaters enabled reuse of heat for heating lower temperature streams. The projects have helped to optimise fuel and energy consumption for the production of process steam.

ORLEN Unipetrol completed the construction of a new boiler house at the steam cracking unit, which now meets the BAT emission requirements for LVOC units. The company also carried out a number of projects concerning wastewater management, which included: replacement of the industrial sewage pipeline, installation of equipment for collection and transport of sludge at the wastewater treatment plant, commissioning of new pumping stations, and commencement of construction of an emergency sulfur drain and overflow tank.

A state-of-the-art flue gas desulphurisation unit was constructed at Energa Elektrownie Ostrołęka, significantly reducing SO2 and dust emissions. At Kalisz CHP Plant, a peak-load/reserve water gas-fired boiler house was constructed, with two 20 MWt boilers and one 10 MWt boiler.

Installation of a heat pump along with solar photovoltaic system and adjustment of the central heating system was completed in the ORLEN KolTrans administration building in Włocławek.

In November 2021, ORLEN Projekt completed another environmentally friendly project.

ORLEN Projekt installed an AC charging station for electric cars next to its office building in Płock. where two cars can be charged simultaneously. The rated power of each charging point is 22.1 kW. The AC charger is equipped with a standard connector that makes it possible to charge almost every electric car model available in the European Union. The power is obtained from a micro PV installation built in 2020 by ORLEN Projekt. Renewable energy from this source is sufficient for roughly 1,300 charging cycles, which fully covers the company’s current fleet requirements, bringing it closer to zero emissions.

ORLEN Aviation implemented a solar photovoltaic programme: electricity generated by solar panels currently covers 5% of its electricity demand.

Renewable energy projects were also carried out by other companies of the ENERGA Group, ANWIL and ORLEN Południe.

ORLEN Południe upgraded the sewage sludge dewatering node within the central separator. thus reducing waste volumes.

PKN ORLEN, ORLEN Eko, and ANWIL undertook adaptation measures based on a review of their waste recovery and disposal units’ compliance with the requirements under the Commission Implementing Decision establishing the best available techniques (BAT) conclusions for waste incineration. The waste incineration unit at PKN ORLEN’s PTA plant will be adjusted to the requirements of the BAT conclusions for energy recovery and emissions monitoring. ORLEN Eko commenced work at its incineration plant (ITPON) to meet more stringent requirements concerning air emissions and wastewater discharged to the sewage system. At the same time, work was under way to adapt the waste shredding and disposal facility to the emissions monitoring requirements of the BAT conclusions for waste treatment. The facility will be equipped with a scrubber for plant air purification. In addition, the construction of a hazardous waste landfill section commenced, to provide safe storage of process residues from the incineration plant.

Investment projects pursued by ORLEN Group companies include organisational measures, such as implementation of environmental and energy management systems, staff training, environmental R&D, as well as technical projects aimed at mitigating the environmental impacts of the existing business segments and sustainable development of new business areas.

>21 m €

The total cost of environmental projects incurred by PKN ORLEN in 2021

67 m €

Capex spent by ORLEN Group companies on environmental projects and initiatives in 2021 amounted

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