Legal changes in the crude oil and petroleum products stock regime

Introduction

As part of the Act passed by the Sejm of the Republic of Poland on 9 July 2025 (“Amendment Act”) amending the Act on Stocks of Crude Oil, Petroleum Products and Natural Gas and on the Rules of Procedure in the Event of Threats to the State’s Fuel Security and Disruptions on the Oil Market, as well as certain other acts (“Stocks Act”)¹, impactful changes were introduced not only with regard to the mandatory natural gas stock scheme, but also in relation to the crude oil and petroleum products related stock regime. The Amendment Act is currently at the legislative stage in the Senate of the Republic of Poland².

The legal framework for the stock of oil and petroleum products is based on intervention stocks³. These consist of: (i) mandatory stocks of crude oil and fuels, created and maintained by producers and traders (“Mandatory Stocks”), and (ii) agency stocks of crude oil and fuels, created and maintained by the Governmental Strategic Reserves Agency (Polish: Rządowa Agencja Rezerw Strategicznych – RARS)⁴ (“Agency Stocks”).

Key amendments

One of the key objectives of the Amendment Act is to modify the structure of intervention stocks by strengthening the RARS’s role through an increase in the volume of Agency Stocks while simultaneously reducing the level of Mandatory Stocks. This constitutes a response to the industry’s long-standing expectations aimed at optimising the intervention stock system, thereby enhancing the state’s fuel security.

Therefore, the statutory volumes of Mandatory Stocks of crude oil or fuels (excluding liquefied petroleum gas — LPG), which producers and traders are required to create and maintain, have been amended⁵. These stocks will be calculated as the product of:

• 50 days and the average daily production of fuels or import of crude oil or fuels carried out by the producer or trader in the previous calendar year — as of 30 September 2025 (compared to 53 days and the average daily production of fuels or import of crude oil or fuels carried out by the producer or trader in the previous calendar year — as of 31 December 2017),
• 47 days and the average daily production of fuels or import of crude oil or fuels carried out by the producer or trader in the previous calendar year — as of 30 June 2026, and
• 45 days and the average daily production of fuels or import of crude oil or fuels carried out by the producer or trader in the previous calendar year — as of 30 June 2027.

According to the justification for the Amendment Act, the requirement to maintain mandatory stocks of at least 53 days (since 31 December 2017)⁶ negatively affects the efficiency of storage capacity utilisation and generates excessively high maintenance costs, which in turn reduces the competitiveness of businesses⁷.

This change is significant due to the provisions of Article 21a of the Stocks Act, which stipulates that Agency Stocks cannot be less than the difference between the volume of intervention stocks, sufficient to cover demand for crude oil and fuels equivalent to at least 90 days multiplied by the average daily net import of crude oil equivalent in the previous calendar year, and the volume of Mandatory Stocks of crude oil or fuels. Consequently, reducing the size of Mandatory Stocks created and maintained by producers and traders increases the statutory volume of Agency Stocks maintained by RARS. Starting from 30 June 2027, the obligation regarding intervention stocks for producers, traders, and RARS will be equalized, amounting respectively to a volume corresponding to the product of 45 days and the average daily net import of crude oil equivalent in the previous calendar year (Mandatory Stocks) and 45 days of Agency Stocks. The changes resulting from the new allocation of burden regarding intervention stocks, related to the increase in Agency Stocks, will be financed from the resources of the Intervention Stocks Fund⁸.

A further significant change from the perspective of crude oil and petroleum products producers and traders concerns the rules for adjusting the quantity of Mandatory Stocks held. Under the current legal framework, producers and traders are required to maintain Mandatory Stocks of crude oil or fuels based on calculations related to activities in the penultimate calendar year preceding the given calendar year⁹. According to the justification for the amendment, the industry raised doubts as to whether, on 30 June, the stocks held should reflect the previous level or already be adjusted to the current year. The introduced change shifts the date that marks the end of the period for which data used to calculate the required quantity of Mandatory Stocks are determined from 30 June to 29 June. This data is based on the volume of crude oil or fuel imports, or fuel production, in the second-to-last calendar year.

Summary

The restructuring of the obligation to create and maintain intervention stocks is expected to positively impact business activities related to the production and trading of crude oil and fuels in Poland. Legislative changes have reduced producers’ and traders’ obligations concerning Mandatory Stocks, while increasing the RARS’s responsibility for maintaining intervention stocks (Agency Stocks). These changes should reduce the cost pressures on market participants and consequently improve their competitiveness. The changes should also enhance the allocation of storage capacity, encourage investment in storage infrastructure to meet the increased demand from RARS, and streamline the intervention stock system, thereby strengthening the state’s fuel security.

1. Sejm bill no. 1239 (https://www.sejm.gov.pl/Sejm10.nsf/druk.xsp?nr=1239).
2. Senat bill no. 386 (https://www.senat.gov.pl/prace/proces-legislacyjny-w-senacie/ustawy-uchwalone-przez-sejm/ustawy-uchwalone-przez-sejm/ustawa,1823.html).
3. Article 3(1) of Stocks Act.
4. Article 3(1) of Stocks Act.
5. Article 1(4) of the Amendment Act.
6. Article 5(3) of the Stocks Act.
7. Point 3 of the justification for the draft Amendment Act: (https://orka.sejm.gov.pl/Druki10ka.nsf/0/5902651B414CB200C1258C85002F9849/%24File/1239-uzasadnienie.docx).
8. Chapter 3a of the Stocks Act.
9. Article 5(9) of the Stocks Act.