Polish energy security in the oil sector

Almost all crude oil used in Poland is imported. The domestic production meets less than 4% of needs; therefore, to ensure the security of supplies, Poland relies heavily on imports. It is worth mentioning, however, that Poland has crude oil resources - oil fields are located in the Carpathians, Polish Lowlands, and in the economic zone of the Baltic Sea. For years, crude oil is imported mainly from the East, however, a significant change in this approach, leading to an increase in seaborne oil supplies, has been observed in recent years. In 2017, 77.3% of crude oil was imported from Russia, while the rest was supplied from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Norway, and Kazakhstan. Increasing the diversification of supplies is, of course, a very positive phenomenon, because it allows reducing the dependence on one supplier, which is beneficial from the point of view of energy security. Taking into account a high dependence on oil imports, the article also discusses important factors affecting the global oil market: low investment in the upstream sector, a drastic decline in oil production in Venezuela, the impact of the U.S. embargo on Iran, or depleting oil reserves.