Polish energy group Unimot will supply crude oil imported by sea from Latin America to Germany's PCK Schwedt refinery, the company said on Monday.
Germany has been seeking alternatives for lost supplies after Russia said it would halt deliveries of Kazakh crude via the Druzhba pipeline from May 1.
The supply from Unimot will allow Schwedt to ramp up activity at a time when the war in the Middle East is squeezing global oil supplies.
The Latin American oil was shipped to Gdansk and will be supplied to Schwedt using the infrastructure of Polish pipeline operator PERN, Unimot said.
"This delivery has significance that goes beyond a single commercial operation," Robert Brzozowski, vice president of the Management Board for Commercial Affairs at Unimot, said in a statement.
"Any solution that strengthens the stability of crude oil supplies from the west supports fuel security on both sides of the border."
Unimot's press office told Reuters that in July there would be a second delivery of non-eastern oil to PCK Schwedt. The Polish energy ministry said in April it had the technical capacity to handle such deliveries and that any potential increase in volumes depended on operational, logistical and market factors.
PERN said in a statement that it had the capability to handle larger volumes of crude from the Naftoport in Gdansk thanks to technology reducing flow resistance, which has increased nominal capacity in the pipeline by about 30 per cent.
(Reporting by Alan Charlish and Karol Badohal; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
