Poland and Ukraine make oil plans

Ukraine and Poland want to reduce their dependency on Russian oil

The presidents of Poland and Ukraine have announced plans to build a pipeline which would reduce their dependency on Russian oil.

Speaking after talks with Viktor Yushchenko, Poland's Lech Kaczynski said both nations were committed to the extension of the Odessa-Brody pipeline.

The pair said they hoped to hold an energy summit in May, with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Georgia joining in.

Both Poland and Ukraine are heavily dependent on Russian oil imports.

Mr Yushchenko expressed hopes that the European Union would co-finance the project, but said he counted mostly on the backing of international oil companies.

He also voiced his support for the creation of a pipeline energy corridor connecting Asia and Europe.

If the plans go ahead, the Odessa-Brody pipeline, currently 670km (410 miles) long, would be extended to Plock, which is home to Poland's main refinery, PKN Orlen.

Orlen currently relies entirely on Russian oil supplies. The extension of the Odessa-Brody pipeline could help bring Caspian oil to Poland, thus bypassing the Russian supplier.

In January, both Polish and Ukrainian oil supplies were badly affected by a commercial row between Russia and Belarus, which led to the closure of the main transit pipeline to Europe.