Ukrtransnafta confirms resumption of oil transit to Slovakia and Hungary
The Ukrtransnafta oil transportation system operator confirms the resumption of oil transit through the Ukrainian section of the main oil pipeline Druzhba in the direction of Slovakia and Hungary.
That follows from a statement by Ukrtransnafta, Ukrainian News Agency reports.
According to the report, on August 4, Ukrtransnafta forcibly stopped the transit of Russian oil due to non-payment by PJSC Transneft (Russia) of the advance payment for oil transportation.
"The contract between Ukrtransnafta and Transneft on the provision of transportation services provides for the transfer of oil with 100% advance payment. Therefore, transportation is possible only on the condition that such services are paid in advance. Since no funds have been received from PJSC Transneft, the Hungarian oil company MOL, which is the main consumer of oil transported by the southern branch of the Druzhba pipeline, took the initiative to undertake the payment of the transit of Russian oil," the message states.
According to the report, on August 10, 2022, Ukrtransnafta received payment for transportation services from the Hungarian oil company MOL and at 4:30 p.m. (Kyiv time), after receiving the funds in the account, resumed the transportation of oil through the Ukrainian section of the pipeline.
"Currently, Ukrtransnafta does not have information about payment for transit from the Czech Republic. Ukrtransnafta has not received an official letter from Transneft regarding what the Mero company, which manages the section of the Druzhba oil pipeline in this country, will pay for transit to the Czech Republic. Ukrtransnafta continues to fulfill its contractual obligations in the standard mode," the message reads.
As Ukrainian News reported, the transportation of Russian oil via Ukraine was resumed after the largest oil and gas company of Hungary, MOL, had paid for the transit.
On August 10, MOL and the Slovak oil refining company, Slovnaft, announced that they had paid for the transit of Russian oil through the territory of Ukraine, and transit is expected to be resumed in the coming days.
Transneft announced the suspension of oil transit through the territory of Ukraine on August 4.
In particular, Transneft was unable to pay for transit services due to European Union sanctions.
Ukrtransnafta provides oil transit services on the terms of 100-percent prepayment.
In 2021, oil transit via Ukraine decreased by 3.2% year over year to 12.7 million tons.
The total length of main oil pipelines of the Ukrtransnafta system is 4,767 km, the number of oil pumping stations is 51.
The oil transportation system includes 11 tank parks with a total volume of 1,083,000 cubic meters.
100% of Ukrtransnafta belongs to the Naftogaz of Ukraine national joint-stock company.