Croatian oil pipeline operator JANAF [ZSE:JNAF] is ready to enable crude oil transportation to Hungary and Slovakia in the context of Ukraine's recent decision to ban the transit of oil produced by Russia's Lukoil to the two landlocked countries via its territory, Croatian prime minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Thursday.
"Yesterday I sent a letter to the prime ministers of Hungary Viktor Orban and Slovakia Robert Fico and to the head of the European commission Ursula von der Leyen in which I expressed the readiness of Croatia and JANAF to enable transportation of oil to the refineries in Szazhalombatta and Bratislava in a capacity of more than 14 million tonnes," Plenkovic said during a weekly cabinet session, as seen in a video recording published on Youtube.
At the end of June, Ukraine imposed sanctions against Lukoil, banning the company from any activity on Ukrainian territory and stopping its pipeline oil shipments to Slovak and Hungarian refineries.
Hungarian energy company MOL, which is the largest shareholder of Croatian oil and gas company INA, runs oil refineries in Hungary and Slovakia.
"JANAF as a company is ready to negotiate with MOL about the transportation and provision of energy security in the changed circumstances," Plenkovic added.
The existing oil pipeline bringing Russian oil to eastern Europe has remained functioning more than two years after Russian launched its war on Ukraine, even though the European Union is trying to reduce its dependence on Russian energy. The southern branch of the Druzhba pipeline runs across Ukraine to the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, and has been the main supply route for their refineries for years, with Rosneft, Lukoil and Tatneft being the main Russian exporters via the route.
Croatia’s majority state-owned JANAF has a design capacity to transport 34 million tonnes of crude oil transported annually (MTA), while the installed capacity is 24 MTA, according to its website. The pipeline was built for the needs of the oil refineries in Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina (24 MTA), as well as for the users in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia (10 MTG).
In April, JANAF signed oil transportation and storage contracts with MOL, which include the transportation 2.2 million tonnes of oil until the end of 2024. Janaf operates terminals for crude oil and oil products on the Adriatic island of Krk, as well as in Sisak, Virje, Slavonski Brod and Zitnjak.
JANAF's shares last traded on the Zagreb Stock Exchange on Wednesday, when they closed 6.08% lower at 850 euro ($917).
(SeeNews, August 1, 2024)
