Plenković: MOL asked Janaf for longer-term offers and larger quantities

MOL has asked Janaf for longer-term offers and larger quantities, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Friday, emphasizing at the same time that he advocates a drastic increase in tariffs for countries importing Russian oil, so that it is no longer competitive.

“We see a changed attitude towards existing contracts and now we will see how these talks will proceed,” said Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.

Regarding the talks between Janaf and MOL, he pointed out that MOL is supplied with crude oil from Russia.

“This oil,” he said, “is cheaper than any oil that comes to Omišalj by tanker.”

When it comes to Janaf's tariffs for MOL, he reiterated that they depend on the amount of transported oil and the term of the contract.

“This is the methodology according to which all oil pipelines and all refineries function. The larger the amount of oil ordered in terms of volume, the longer the requested contracts in terms of duration, the cheaper the price of the transport tariff,” Plenković said.

Asked to comment on MOL's allegations that the EU should have two oil pipelines, he said that in this whole story we have an extraordinary circumstance, which is Russian aggression against Ukraine.

“It is not normal for EU and NATO countries, which have several packages of sanctions and regimes aimed at Russia while the aggression against Ukraine continues, to buy fossil fuels from Russia. This is how the Russian war machine is financed, and it doesn't make any sense,” the prime minister believes.

He is advocating for a changed policy that aims for all countries that import Russian oil to raise the tariff to a level where that oil will no longer be competitive.

“In this case, for example, this puts Hungary in a position where it will not be profitable to buy crude oil at a cheaper price, but after these duties it would be more expensive than any other oil that will be brought by tankers, for example, to Omišalj,” he said.

He reiterated that Janaf has enough capacity to supply refineries in Slovakia and Hungary.

Serbia has failed to resolve the ownership structure of NIS

Asked whether Janaf is in any way threatened after the US sanctions on the Oil Industry of Serbia (NIS) and whether Croatia even has the option to buy the Oil Industry of Serbia, he pointed out that these sanctions prevent Janaf from continuing to transport crude oil from Omišalj to the refinery in Pančevo.

He reiterated that Janaf is doing well, has sufficient reserves and that he does not see any immediate threat in this regard.

He also pointed out that the ownership structure is a problem for the Serbian company NIS. He pointed out that Serbia had seven or eight months to resolve the ownership structure of NIS, but that it has failed to do so.

“Croatia does not have any intention to do anything in this regard,” he added.

He stressed that he believes that energy companies, based on the experiences from the energy crisis, should be nationally owned.

Plenković on candidates for the Supreme Court: I do not want to prejudge anything

Speaking about the received candidacies for the President of the Supreme Court, Plenković said that he did not want to prejudge anything before the legal procedure is followed and the President of the Republic Zoran Milanović, as the proposer, states his position.

“I would wait, we are always here to respect the procedure and all candidates. We will consider it,” said Plenković after the opening of the International Veteran's Conference in Split, when asked whether the governing majority would support candidate Mirta Matić if President Milanović proposes her for the President of the Supreme Court.

“The procedure is clear,” he added, emphasizing that the State Court Council must first complete all candidacies and then see what the proposer, the President of the Republic, will say about these candidates in accordance with the Constitution.

“He did nothing last time, which is also not normal or legal. Will anyone be informed of the procedure at all, we will look into things, I do not want to prejudge anything,” he said.

Patrol ship project inherited from the time of Kotromanović

Asked about patrol ships and the contract that Brodosplit terminated with the Ministry of Defense, according to which three of them were to be built, the Prime Minister reminded that this project was inherited from the time of Social Democratic Party Minister Ante Kotromanović and that solutions would be sought for this situation.

“At the beginning of his mandate almost two years ago, Minister Ivan Anušić spoke with the Brodosplit Administration, for now the situation has changed somewhat. The Croatian Army and the Croatian Navy need patrol ships, this project was inherited from the time of Kotromanović. It seemed like a lot to build these ships, unfortunately, it went slowly, solutions will be sought. I don't have any concrete information now, we will talk to the minister and we will see after these contract terminations,” he pointed out.

Source: HRT