Croatian Janaf and Hungarian Mol Group signed a contract on the transport of 2.1 million tons of oil using the Janaf pipeline system and store crude oil at Omišalj and Sisak Terminal, the Croatian company announced. The transport contract is valid until the end of this year, while the storage agreement last until 31 December 2027. The volume has not changed much compared to last year, when an agreement was signed to transport 2.2 million tons of crude oil.
Dissatisfied Mol: the contract does not help security of supply of the region
However, Mol and its Slovakian subsidy, Slovnaft expressed regret that the two companies had only been able to agree on a one-year contract at prices significantly higher than European transport tariffs.
“The Mol Group believes that a multi-year agreement would have better supported predictable security of supply in the region,” the company wrote in a statement. “The high transmission fees set in the contract certainly do not help to contain energy prices.”
At the same time, Mol Group companies look forward to the long-announced improvements to Janaf, which would allow for stable and large volumes of product to be delivered all year round along the Croatian section of the pipeline.
The vulnerability of the landlocked Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary can only be improved by keeping all transport options alive. “With this in mind, and out of a sense of responsibility for security of supply for the whole region, our companies had no choice but to sign this contract,” written in the statement.
Central Europe still dependent on Russian oil
There have been serious disputes between Mol and Janaf for years. Mol partly blames Janaf’s high transit fees and tight capacity for its inability to buy more oil on the southern route. The refineries in Százhalombatta in Hungary and Bratislava in Slovakia still use mainly Russian oil, which comes via the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline. Czechia can decouple from Russian oil this summer, when the upgrade of the Transalpine Pipeline (TAL) will be ready.
