. 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 long, would be extended to Plock, the location of Poland’s main refinery, PKN Orlen, which currently relies entirely on Russian oil supplies. The extension of the Odessa-Brody pipeline could help bring Caspian oil to Poland, thus by-passing the Russian supplier. This follows on from January, when both Polish and Ukrainian oil supplies were badly affected by a commercial row between Russia and Belarus, which led to the closure for a time of the main transit pipeline to Europe.