ORLEN Południe S.A. emerged through the consolidation of the assets of PKN ORLEN and incorporated the Trzebinia Refinery and the Jedlicze Petroleum Refinery. Consolidation also covered the Naftowax Paraffin Factory and the Company Fire Service, which merged with the Trzebinia Refinery.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1895 | Count Andrzej Potocki officially commences the construction of the Trzebinia Oil Refinery. |
| 1897 | In line with market demand, the Trzebinia plant continued the production of lighting kerosene in various grades — imperial, salon, household, and export. As a result, the refinery’s monthly production capacity increased to one thousand tons. |
| 1899 | The Hanoverian Galician Oil Mining Association launched the Refinery in Jedlicze, where gasoline rectification and kerosene refining using sulfuric acid were carried out. |
| 1919 | The Jedlicze Refinery was taken over by the Dabrowa Oil Company, a limited liability partnership based in Drohobych. The refinery’s competitiveness increased due to the processing of high‑quality crude oil extracted in the surrounding localities. |
| 1939 | The Jedlicze Refinery was taken over by the occupying authorities, who managed it until 1944. During the evacuation, most of the equipment and machinery was dismantled and transported away. |
| 1944 | Allied bombers appeared over Trzebinia, targeting the Refinery, which was operating in support of the Wehrmacht. The air raids leveled almost the entire old section of the refinery. |
| 1945 | The Jedlicze Refinery resumes production. |
| 1950-1955 | The Trzebinia Oil Refinery is an investment from the Six-Year Plan. This made it possible in 1951 to launch Poland’s first two‑stage tubular tower distillation unit, which was capable of processing a quarter of a million tons of crude oil. |
| 1963 | The refinery in Jedlicze, as the first refinery in Poland, began the regeneration of waste oils. |
| 1970s | The continuation of crude‑oil processing. The Trzebinia Refinery, as one of the oldest facilities, continued to operate despite the emergence of large refinery and petrochemical complexes in Poland and across Europe. |
| 1990s | The Trzebinia Refinery produces ethanol‑based and unleaded gasolines, diesel fuels, AQUILA engine oils, asphalts, and paraffins. |
| 1995 | The state-owned enterprise is transformed into a Sole Shareholder Company of the State Treasury – Trzebinia Refinery S.A. |
| 1996 | At the Jedlicze Refinery, the TDA unit (the used‑oil distillation installation) is commissioned. |
| 1996 | The transformation of the Jedlicze Refinery from a state‑owned enterprise into a joint‑stock company under the name Rafineria Nafty Jedlicze Joint‑Stock Company. |
| 1997 | An agreement was concluded between Nafta Polska S.A. and Petrochemia Płock S.A., under which Petrochemia Płock S.A. acquires 75% of the shares of Trzebinia Refinery S.A. and becomes its strategic investor. |
| 1999 | As a result of the establishment of the Polish Oil Concern S.A., created through the merger of Petrochemia Płock S.A. and CPN S.A., the Trzebinia Refinery is incorporated into the structures of PKN as a company within the Concern’s Capital Group. |
| 2001 | At the Jedlicze Oil Refinery, the HOP unit (a hydrotreating installation for used oils) is commissioned. In this way, a sequence of specialized installations for the regeneration of waste oils was established at the Refinery. |
| 2002–2004 | At the Trzebinia Refinery, restructuring measures are undertaken as part of the implementation of modern technologies:
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| 2004 | At the Trzebinia Refinery, the investment plan encompassing the construction of a biodiesel production unit and a paraffin hydrotreating unit is completed. |
| 2006 | The Trzebinia Refinery, as the first producer of biofuels in Poland, is awarded the ‘Teraz Polska’ Promotional Emblem for its product marketed under the trade name ‘ON BIO 10’. |
| 2007 | The resumption of crude‑oil processing (of domestic origin) at the Trzebinia Refinery. |
| 2007 | At the Jedlicze Oil Refinery, the Solvents Unit producing hydrocarbon solvents is commissioned. |
| 2008 | The Trzebinia Refinery becomes a laureate of the award for the BIO product line in the 9th Edition of the National Environmental Competition ‘Environmentally Friendly 2008’. |
| 2009 | The Trzebinia Refinery signs an agreement with PGNiG S.A. for the supply of crude oil from Polish deposits. The agreement was concluded for an indefinite period. |
| 2010 | The ‘Teraz Polska’ Promotional Emblem for the Jedlicze Oil Refinery. The award was granted for the technology titled ‘Modified Catalytic Hydrogen Process for Waste Oil Regeneration’, implemented and used at Jedlicze Oil Refinery S.A. since 2007. The technology, co‑owned by the Jedlicze Oil Refinery S.A. and the Oil and Gas Institute in Kraków, received this distinction in the ‘Innovative Projects’ category. |
| 2011 | The State Treasury sells its shareholding package of Jedlicze Oil Refinery S.A. to PKN ORLEN S.A. |
| 2012 | PKN ORLEN S.A. becomes the sole owner of Jedlicze Oil Refinery S.A. |
| 05.01.2015 | The merger of Trzebinia Refinery S.A. — as the acquiring company — and Jedlicze Oil Refinery S.A. — as the acquired company — accompanied by the simultaneous change of the company name from Trzebinia Refinery S.A. to ORLEN Południe S.A. |
| 2019 | The Strategy Committee of PKN ORLEN S.A. made the decision to launch the implementation of the Biorefinery Construction Program at ORLEN Południe S.A. |
| 2019 | Commissioning of the New Heat Source investment at the refinery in Trzebinia. The construction included, among other things, a gas boiler house, a water treatment station, a gas conditioning station, and high‑ and low‑pressure gas pipelines. |
| 2019 | Signing of the agreement for the purchase of the licence and the basic design for a second‑generation bioethanol production unit at the refinery in Jedlicze. |
| 2019 | The laying of the foundation stone for the construction of a propylene glycol (1,2‑MPG) production unit, based on the conversion of 99.5% distilled glycerine, at the ORLEN Południe S.A. Production Plant in Trzebinia. It is the first installation of its kind in Poland and the second — and at the same time the largest — in Europe. |
| 2020 | Commissioning of the new wastewater treatment plant at the Trzebinia refinery. |
| 2020 | The start of construction of a pilot installation for the production of lactic acid in Trzebinia. |
| 2020 | Purchase of an agricultural biogas plant in Konopnica, in the Rawa Mazowiecka municipality — the first installation of this kind within the biogas program, which envisages the creation of a network of biomethane plants across the country. |
| 2021 | Completion of construction and commissioning at the Trzebinia refinery of the first installation in Poland — and the largest in Europe — for the production of propylene glycol. |
| 2021 | Purchase of agricultural biogas plants in the municipalities of Szepietowo and Jeżewo, as well as the start of construction of a biomethane plant in Głąbów, in the Ryn municipality. |
| 2022 | The start of construction of the UCO FAME production and distillation unit in Trzebinia. |
| 2022 | Commissioning in Trzebinia of a pilot installation for the production of lactic acid using microorganisms. |
| 2022 | Signing of the contract for the construction of the Second‑Generation Bioethanol production unit in Jedlicze. |
| 2022 | Commissioning in Trzebinia of the first hydrogen hub in Poland and of a mobile hydrogen refuelling station in Kraków. |
| 2023 | Signing of the contract for the construction of a rapeseed oil pressing plant in Kętrzyn. The facility will process 500,000 tonnes of rapeseed and produce 200,000 tonnes of oil annually for the production of low‑emission biofuels. |
| 2023 | Commissioning of the UCO FAME production and distillation unit in Trzebinia, producing 30,000 tonnes of second‑generation esters and 7,000 tonnes of technical‑grade glycerine annually. |