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Hungarian oil giant Mol asked for Brussels’ help against Croatian oil company
A new chapter has opened in the energy dispute between Hungary and Croatia, as Mol and its Slovak subsidiary, Slovnaft, have filed an official complaint with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition.
Why is Mol asking Brussels’ help?
The companies claim that the Croatian pipeline operator, Janaf, is attempting to impose conditions that could endanger the security of supply in the region. The Adriatic pipeline, operated by Janaf, would play a crucial role should the European Union proceed with its plan to phase out Russian crude.
According to Mol, Janaf recently informed the two companies that they would only receive the crude oil they had already purchased and scheduled for transport if they agreed to buy additional volumes, labelled as “technical stock” within the operator’s system, writes 24.hu.
The Hungarian company says they are caught by surprise
Mol says this requirement came as a complete surprise: it was never part of the contractual terms and had not emerged in previous cooperation with the Croatian operator.
The Hungarian company also claims that Janaf recently failed to deliver the ordered volumes on time, and then indicated that future deliveries would only be guaranteed under similarly restrictive conditions.