It came unexpectedly! UKRAINE increases FEES for OIL transit in Slovakia: What does this mean for us?
BRATISLAVA – The energy situation in Slovakia has been critical in recent months and nothing positive awaits us in the following months either. The prices of heat, energy, electricity and fuel have risen extremely. Moreover, the situation with the transit of Russian oil through Ukraine to Europe is not ideal and optimal.
According to current information, Ukraine wants to increase the fees for the transit of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline in Slovakia by more than 18% to 13.6 euros per ton from January 2023. Even for experts, this is shocking information in a way. “The tariff policy of individual operators of the Druzhba pipeline system, including the section on the territory of Ukraine, is within the full competence of these operators. Since we do not know the real reasons why this happens, it is difficult for us to comment on it. The increase in transit fees for Russian oil headed for Slovakia will understandably have an impact on the total costs associated with the purchase of oil that is transported to refineries in the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic, or Hungary, via Ukrainian territory.“ they told us from Transpetrol, which is the only operator of the oil pipeline system in the Slovak Republic and also ensures the transit of oil through the Družba oil pipeline in Slovakia.
It is therefore appropriate to ask whether the increase in fees for the transit of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline to Slovakia will also make the production of oil products more expensive in Slovakia. “We recommend addressing this question directly to the Slovak refining company – Slovnaft as, as long as the operator of the oil pipeline system in the territory of the Slovak Republic, in this particular case of Transpetrol, does not influence the cost of importing oil into the territory of the Slovak Republic“ delivered from Transpetrol. Since April 2022, it would be the second time that Ukraine would raise fees for transporting oil through the Druzhba pipeline to Central Europe. In a little more than half a year, the price will increase by more than 50%. That is also why we were interested in whether Slovakia was informed about the planned current increase in fees for the transit of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline. Therefore, we also asked the Ministry of Economy, under which the state enterprise Transpetrol belongs, for a statement.
“The operator of the oil pipeline system in the territory of Slovakia, the company TRANSPETROL, as, was not informed about the planned increase in the tariff for the transportation of oil through the territory of Ukraine. However, the tariff policy of individual operators of the Druzhba pipeline system, including the section on the territory of Ukraine, is within the full competence of these operators, while the amount of transport tariffs of operators of pipeline systems in Europe is not commonly known and is usually a trade secret.” Mária said Mária Pavlusík, from the Press Department of the Office of the Minister of Economy. Information about Ukraine’s increase in the price of oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline in Slovakia is therefore at least strange in the current situation. Also in connection with Minister Karel Hirman’s statements at the CEE Central European Energy Conference.
According to Hirman, the export of products made from Russian oil to Ukraine should not fall under the sanctions of the European Union, while according to him, the import of diesel and gasoline is strategically important for Ukraine, and the export of these oil products is causing problems for the Bratislava Slovnaft refinery. “There is a large deficit of diesel, not only in Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary, and without a new regime that would apply to the export of petroleum products, export to Ukraine would not be possible,” Hirman said. But the fees for the transit of Ukraine in Slovakia, despite the fact that it also affects Hungary and the Czech Republic. “Given the lack of information on the subject and the war situation in Ukraine, it is difficult to comment on the main information and intentions that could have led the Ukrainian side to increase transit fees“ responded from Transpetrol.
We will update the article after comments from Slovnaft