Hungary's Mol is turning to the European Commission in Janaf dispute

In their letter to the European Commission, Mol and Slovnaft stated that Janaf had informed them that

they would only receive the crude oil they had purchased and scheduled for delivery if they agreed to purchase additional quantities.

These would be entered into the Janaf system as 'technical stock'.

According to the relevant press release, Mol was taken aback by the request from the Adria pipeline operator, as this had never been an issue in its previous dealings with Janaf, and there is no such provision in the contract. Furthermore, the request may conflict with the terms of the contract signed by the companies.

They recalled that Janaf had recently failed to deliver the ordered quantity on time, indicating that it would only be able to fulfil future deliveries under similar conditions. "This practice has immediate and serious consequences, as Janaf is exploiting its position in the infrastructure sector to unilaterally amend the contract governing the transportation of non-Russian crude oil."

This undermines Mol and Slovnaft's ability to procure the necessary volumes of non-Russian crude oil to comply with legislation

and ensure the continuous, secure operation of the Slovak refinery, which plays a key role in supplying fuel to several EU member states," they write.

According to Mol, in addition to the capacity and price issues affecting the Adria pipeline, this recent development also creates further uncertainty. They emphasise that

questions are being asked about how reliably the southern pipeline system will operate, which could be very important in terms of the feasibility of the European Union's proposed gradual phase-out of Russian oil.

Slovnaft and Mol have therefore asked the European Commission to monitor the situation closely.

Cover photo: Portfolio