The increasingly advanced construction of huge structures in the Podjuchy district of Szczecin has attracted the attention of residents of nearby buildings. They reported the matter to the District Construction Supervision Inspectorate. It turned out that giant fuel tanks were being built without permission. The investor – Oktan Energy & V/L Service – now has a serious problem. PINB issued a decision to suspend the work. The investor can legalize the contract, but would have to pay a fee, which may amount to millions of zlotys.
See also: PiS's flagship investment worth PLN 7 billion is entering the settlement phase. An investigation begins
Seven fuel tanks near the houses
Oktan Energy is building seven tanks in Szczecin for approx. 160,000. cubic meters fuel. Five of them are to be almost 28 m high. The tanks are located at ul. Szklana, on the bank of the Eastern Oder. The investor is a company dealing in the sale, transport and storage of fuels. It turned out that the investment began at the end of 2025 without a building permit.
— I don't remember such unauthorized construction, and I have been working at PINB since the beginning of the Inspectorate's existence, i.e. since 1999 — Mariusz Czasnojć, head of the jurisprudence and legal department of PINB in Szczecin, told PAP on Thursday. He admitted that he was surprised that such a large facility was being built without documentation and administrative decisions.
Czasnojć pointed out that a PINB decision on demolition may be issued, e.g. if the investor does not submit an application for legalization, does not pay the legalization fee or continues construction despite the PINB's decision to suspend it.
On Wednesday evening, the controversial investment was discussed during an extraordinary meeting of the Podjuchy Housing Estate Council, attended by several dozen residents, three representatives of Oktan Energy and local councilors. Oktan Energy's technical director, Cezary Krzysik, admitted that they started construction without permission. “We were pressed for time,” he explained.
He emphasized that the company obtained (December 4, 2025) the so-called environmental decision regarding the investment. He assured that in April this year, after the PINB decision, the work was suspended. He also argued that the construction of fuel storage facilities is aimed at increasing Poland's security, and the reservoirs planned in Podjuchy will be used by the Government Agency of Strategic Reserves.
See also: A gigantic hall among the houses in Blizne. “I will have the sun until 11, no neighbor at all”
Residents of the district whose houses are located near the reservoirs under construction were not convinced by this argument. They pointed out the inconvenience associated with fuel transport and the risk of fire, explosion, etc. They stated that they did not trust a company that carried out an investment of such a scale without permits.
Councilors and residents of Podjuchy asked whether the owner of Oktan Energy & V/L Service is the “same” Iwona Bobrek, who for years was the director of the city's financial management department at the Municipal Office. Oktan Energy representatives did not provide a clear answer on this matter. In response to PAP's questions about the company's ownership structure, the Oktan Energy secretariat referred to “publicly available documents and registers”. He refused to provide information about the financing of the investment in Podjuchy, explaining it as a “trade secret” and “contractual obligations”. The Secretariat informed that “all construction works in the area of the investment in question have been suspended and are not being carried out in any way as of the date of this response.”
