Grupa LOTOS

On March 7th 1971, a decision was made to commence construction of a refinery in Gdańsk. Over four years, on a 220 ha site a modern refining plant was built, designed to process 3 million tonnes of crude oil annually. The refinery was to supply fuels and lubricants for the Polish economy. The first batch of crude oil was loaded into the refinery storage tanks in 1975, and then the Fuel Unit was started up.

Why in Gdańsk?

The programme for increasing the use of chemicals in the national economy (1968-1972) provided for significant development of the refining and petrochemical industry. The construction of a new refinery offered an alternative to the costly imports of petroleum products from the West. The project was to be located in the north of Poland, and was to be accompanied by the construction of a marine oil terminal, where crude transported by sea was to be unloaded. A number of locations were considered. Eventually, Płonia Mała, situated east of Gdańsk in the fork of the Martwa Wisła river and the Rozwójka canal, was selected as the proposed plant site.