Croatian pipeline operator Janaf is overcharging for deliveries of crude to Hungary, oil and gas company MOL said on Tuesday.
Janaf’s transit fees are triple those charged by the operator of the Transalpine Pipeline that brings seaborne crude from Trieste to refineries in Central Europe, MOL said. Janaf’s fees are more than 50pc higher than those for the stretch of the Druzhba pipeline that passes through Ukraine, and Janaf does not face the challenges posed by war, it added.
MOL noted that the transport costs for tanker delivery of crude to the Croatian port of Omisalj add another USD 20-25/tonne.
Janaf abusing its market position
Without any contract with Janaf, MOL said it continues to work to reach an agreement, but Janaf is “clearly abusing its market position” by not following industry pricing practices and failing to take into account the additional cost of seaborne deliveries.
MOL said Janaf wants to charge it USD 5.3 per tonne/100km for crude delivered to the Hungarian border. It added that the charge per tonne/100km stands at USD 3.4 for delivery to the Hungarian border through the Ukrainian section of the Druzhba and USD 1.4 per tonne/100km for delivery between Trieste and Vienna through the TAL.
If you missed:
- Péter Magyar urges PM Orbán to inspect the state of the Druzhba oil pipeline together in Ukraine – here’s Orbán’s response
- MOL CEO Hernádi: No damage to Druzhba pipeline, diesel shortage expected; Zelensky: give something for crude delivery restart
Featured image: depositphotos.com
Why do I feel no sympathy for MOL and Orban, but I do for the Hungarians? Because it’s always the same pattern: blaming others for one’s own bad decisions. I’d just like to point out that Hungary wouldn’t act any differently if it were in Croatia’s shoes. History has repeatedly demonstrated this.
If Hungary had cultivated better relationships with its neighbors in the past and hadn’t constantly made demands of them, it wouldn’t have found itself in this difficult situation. But Orban believed that it held all the cards forever. Unfortunately, this was yet another complete miscalculation, almost comparable to Russia’s assessment of Ukraine’s military resilience before the war began. Now, scapegoats are needed: the EU, Western Europe, Germany, and Ukraine, but of course, not the USA — at least not yet!
It is hard to have sympathy for Hungarians as well, specially with many (but not all of them) support the suicidal decisions to stick to only one source of energy
In the end they Hun Gov only wanted free stuff like this pipeline to be cheap and them to over charge and scam Hungarians and more money to Orban pockets.