Premier: Transporting Oil by Tanker Becoming More Complicated Due to Overbids

      Bratislava, 17 March (TASR) - The government has been informed that the transport of crude oil by tankers to the Slovnaft refinery is being complicated by delays, particularly on the part of Asian countries, stated Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) at a press conference following the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, with Economy Minister Denisa Sakova (Voice-SD) in attendance.
        The premier also expects Thursday's (19 March) EU summit on energy prices to be a 'fiasco', meaning that it won't yield any solutions. According to Sakova, Ukraine still refuses to allow a technical inspection of whether the Druzhba pipeline is functional on its territory.
        "Our prediction that Iran isn't Venezuela is coming true, and all signs point to this conflict continuing for a long time to come. Therefore, the situation on international markets regarding oil supplies will worsen. We were informed today by representatives of the Slovnaft refinery that there's a shortage of about 20 percent of oil on the international market. It's such a huge volume that it automatically creates crisis conditions," emphasised Fico.
        "We were also informed that there are cases in which a company orders a tanker and then finds out that someone else has outbid them for that tanker. This mainly concerns countries such as Japan, China and South Korea," added the prime minister.
        According to Fico, Thursday's summit will be a major fiasco because no specific proposals will be presented, such as measures to reduce electricity prices. "Tensions are rising sharply because the Hungarian government continues to block the allocation of €90 billion for Ukraine," he warned.
        "Under these circumstances, it's of utmost importance for the Slovak government that we maintain some degree of price stability for fuels, and the path that we chose at the first government meeting attended by Slovnaft representatives was the right one," he said.
        According to Sakova, European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen wrote a letter to member states in which she estimated the increased costs of oil and gas at €6 billion over the past ten days, which came out of the pockets of EU taxpayers.
        "We expected yesterday [16 March, at the Energy Ministers' Council in Brussels] a major discussion as well as the EC's plans on how we'll address the oil and gas crisis in the short, medium and long term. Unfortunately, the discussion has so far been merely informational, with the Commission stating that it's preparing measures," she said.
        The economy minister announced that she's met Ukraine's Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal, with whom she discussed oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline. "The Ukrainian minister clearly stated to me that they are reportedly working to repair the damage caused to the Druzhba pipeline near the Brody pumping station," she said.
        "When we asked him whether an inspection team could visit the site of the damage [in Ukraine] and assess its extent, he replied that such visits aren't permitted at this time," added Sakova, adding that Shmyhal was unable to promise, or rather, refused to accept, that the Czechs can act as a mediator in the Druzhba dispute.