Fico: Russian Oil for Slovakia Could Be Purchased by Transpetrol

Bratislava, 15 May (TASR) - State-run oil transporter Transpetrol could begin purchasing Russian oil for the needs of the Slovnaft refinery, Premier Robert Fico told a news conference on Friday, adding that the issue is 'on the table'. The prime minister noted that oil for Slovakia's needs is currently being purchased by Slovnaft's parent company, the Hungarian MOL Group. "Slovakia doesn't buy oil for Slovakia. Oil for Slovakia is purchased by MOL Group, as MOL is now the owner of the Slovnaft refinery. In other words, the purchaser of everything that Slovnaft currently needs is Hungarian company MOL, with which we have no connection," said the premier. Fico said that as long as Slovakia continues to be able to import Russian oil, for which it currently has an exemption from the European Commission, the question is whether the Slovak state itself couldn't be a partner regarding supplies of Russian oil. Fico discussed this possibility with the management of Transpetrol last Sunday (10 May) after returning from celebrations marking the end of the WWII in Moscow. He views it as natural that, just like natural gas is purchased by the state-owned SPP, oil could be purchased by another state-owned company. "It would have to be a state-run joint-stock company that would purchase oil in Russia in order to import it into Slovakia. So, Transpetrol could also be one of these institutions, and, as it's involved in oil transportation, it was quite natural that the first company that I discussed this issue with was them," said the premier, adding that he's opened the political door to the matter and that further negotiations are now up to the company itself. Slovakia imports just under 6 million tonnes of oil annually for the needs of its only domestic refinery, Slovnaft. Following the introduction of sanctions, the Bratislava refinery has received an exemption allowing it to process Russian oil, but it can't export products from it. When supplying some areas of the Czech Republic, Hungary or Austria, it can only use products made from oil from other countries, imported through the Adria pipeline. ko/df