The Hungarian oil and gas company MOL has announced that it has started transporting crude oil from Azerbaijan to Slovnaft’s refinery in Bratislava via Omišalj and the Adriatic pipeline, noting that it has taken a historic step in rounding off the production process “from field to vehicle” and diversifying supply, reported the Croatian new portal Index.hr.
MOL Group transports crude oil produced at the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli oil field in Azerbaijan, in which it is a co-owner, all the way to the Slovakian Slovnaft’s refinery in Bratislava, evaluating this as a big step in its efforts to increase flexibility in the procurement of crude oil.
The arrival of the tanker Seavelvet from the port of Ceyhan in Turkey to Omišalj and then the transportation of oil to Bratislava via the Adriatic pipeline is a success story for the MOL Group, as it represents the completion of its supply chain considering that it will process and sell derivatives refined in one of its own refineries using crude of oil produced in an oil-field of which the company is a co-owner.
MOL states that oil will be transported from the Sangachal terminal near Baku to Ceyhan via the BTC pipeline, in which the MOL Group has an 8.9 percent ownership stake. Upon arrival from Ceyhan to Omišalj, the cargo of 90,000 tons of crude oil will be transported via the Adriatic pipeline to Slovnaft’s refinery.
In April, the test production of Azeri Light oil derivatives, produced at the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli oil field, one of the largest fields of the Azerbaijani economy, in which MOL Group owns a 9.57 percent stake, will begin. This field represents 15 percent of MOL Group’s total production and 25 percent of total reserves.
As MOL points out, this comes after the successful testing of several types of oil from the Middle East and the Caspian region in Slovnaft’s refinery, and represents another important milestone on the MOL Group’s path towards greater flexibility in the procurement of crude oil due to European sanctions on the export of derivatives from countries member of the EU.
“The arrival of this shipment of Azeri Light crude oil is a remarkable event for us as it further demonstrates our flexibility in crude oil procurement. It also marks a new opportunity to complete the entire value chain in our production, which is always a great achievement. MOL Group has regional security in mind supply, therefore we are particularly pleased to be able to contribute to the supply of the CEE region with our own crude oil,” said Gabriel Szabo, Executive Vice President of Refineries and Marketing at MOL Group.
MOL also states that they continue to import Russian crude oil (REBCO) through the Druzhba pipeline because they believe that the best way to guarantee the security of fuel supply in the Central and Eastern European region is to maintain traditional supply channels while exploring and securing alternative ones, the statement concludes.
