Water and effluents

The ORLEN Group companies use water resources rationally in compliance with the required water permits or integrated permits. The companies conduct qualitative and quantitative monitoring of the water drawn and the wastewater discharged. The main source of water for the ORLEN Group companies is fresh surface water from the Vistula, the Elbląg, the Prosna, the Motława, the Jasiołka, the Łaba and other rivers.

To a lesser extent, the companies draw water from underground intake points, the water supply networks of ORLEN Group companies and third-party water supply networks.

Water consumption across the ORLEN Group by source is presented in the table below.

In addition, Energa Wytwarzanie S.A. (formerly ENERGA OZE) withdrew 30.2 billion m³ of water for the operation of hydroelectric power plant turbines, and returned the same volume of water in unimpaired condition. Hydroelectric power generation involves returning of water, i.e. the water that flows through the power plant turbines is returned to the environment in the same amount and without any significant change in its physical and chemical parameters.

The reported rise in water intake volumes in 2022 is attributable to the incorporation of the former PGNiG Group and former LOTOS Group companies into the ORLEN Group.

The table below presents total water withdrawal by the former PGNiG Group and the former LOTOS Group for the full year 2022.

The ongoing climate change is taking a toll on the water resources in Poland and wider Europe. Recently, Poland has seen more frequent precipitation but of extreme nature causing flash floods and other extreme weather events, alternating with long periods of drought that can cause water shortages, calling for the need to protect water resources and carry out measures for their rational management.

The deficit of water resources has a direct impact on the activities and operations of plants in the ORLEN Group, including those related, for example, to the use of water for energy purposes.

The Group operates facilities located in areas characterised by water scarcity risks (source: WWF Water Risk Filter - Maps). These include:

Water discharge

A detailed summary is provided in the table below.

All wastewater undergoes a treatment process which includes mechanical, physical, chemical and/or biological treatments. Once wastewater is treated in accordance with the companies’ integrated permits, it is discharged into rivers: Vistula, Narew, Elbląg, Elbe, Bílina, Dubulis, Obelaukis, Vltava, Jasiołka, Prosna, Brzeźnica, Ropa and Sowlina, and to the Baltic Sea. The remaining wastewater streams are directed to licensed operators engaged in professional wastewater management.

The total volume of treated wastewater discharged into the environment by all ORLEN Group companies amounted to more than 605 million m³ in 2022. Detailed data is shown in the table below.

The reported increase in the volume of wastewater discharged into the environment is attributable to the incorporation of the former PGNiG Group and former LOTOS Group companies into the ORLEN Group.

The table below shows the volume of wastewater discharged only by the former PGNiG Group and the former LOTOS Group for the full year 2022.

Activities related to both water intake and wastewater discharge are closely monitored by ORLEN Group companies, as required by the permits they hold, their management systems and contracts with water and wastewater suppliers/consumers. Monitoring contributes to rational and sustainable use of a resource such as water. As a result, companies do not report exceedances in the water withdrawal and wastewater discharge volumes. Monitoring of the above parameters is carried out by accredited laboratories using reference methodologies.

ORLEN Group companies actively seek to reduce water withdrawal volumes. For instance, Energa Elektrownie Ostrołęka S.A. uses neutralised wastewater from the technological water preparation station and partially rainwater and industrial wastewater to compensate for water losses in hydro-ashing circuits. Energa Centrum Usług Wspólnych Sp. z o.o. implements solutions supporting rational water consumption and decreasing overall water usage (automatic touchless faucets in sanitary rooms, dishwashers in kitchen areas, automatic drinking water dispensers). Another example is Rafineria Gdańska Sp. z o.o., which is also taking a number of measures to reduce economic use of the environment in the area of water management, such as recovering and returning steam condensate. This has a positive effect both on the amount of water drawn and the amount of wastewater discharged.

Treated wastewater at the ORLEN Lietuva refinery and at the production plant in Płock is partly reused, which also brings down the volumes of water withdrawn from the environment for utility and fire-fighting purposes. In 2022, ORLEN Lietuva and ORLEN reused 4.6 million m³ and over 3.1 million m³ of wastewater, respectively.

In 2022, ORLEN implemented the innovative Blue Bridge project, a pioneering venture in Poland designed to reduce the amount of water abstracted from the Vistula River for industrial processes of the Company’s production plant in Płock. A detailed description of the project can be found in the section on the closed circuit economy.