Hungary's MOL and refiner Slovnaft accuse Croatia's JANAF of breach of contract
Hungarian oil group MOL and its Slovak subsidiary accused Croatian pipeline operator JANAF on Thursday of unilaterally changing its contract and jeopardizing non-Russian fuel supplies.
MOL said it and Slovnaft told the European Commission in a letter that JANAF would only deliver crude oil already purchased and scheduled for delivery if the two companies agreed to purchase additional volumes as technical amounts to inject into JANAF's system.
MOL alleged that this requirement, not previously an issue, was absent from the existing contract.
"JANAF is leveraging its infrastructure position to impose unilateral changes to the contract governing access to non-Russian crude oil transport," MOL said in a statement.
JANAF has previously denied accusations by Slovnaft that it was in breach of contract. It did not immediately respond to questions on the latest claims.
MOL said the issue jeopardized its ability to secure sufficient non-Russian crude needed to meet regulatory compliance and ensure uninterrupted operations at Slovnaft's Slovak refinery.
The letter sent to the Directorate-General for Competition of the EU executive follows Slovnaft's accusations earlier this month that JANAF had reduced deliveries of non-Russian crude and failed to supply a contracted shipment.
Slovnaft still has not received the shipment in question, a spokesperson said on Thursday.
"This is of great importance in terms of the feasibility of phasing out Russian oil proposed by the European Union," MOL said.
The Adriatic pipeline from Croatia is a key route for alternative supplies for Hungary and Slovakia, which have long relied mostly on Russian crude via the Druzhba pipeline. Hungarian and Slovakian officials have worried over the Adriatic's capacity and costs.
JANAF transported 2.1 MM tonnes of crude oil to MOL's refineries in Hungary and Slovakia this year under an existing deal. The two countries differ with the EU over Brussels' approach to Russia's war in Ukraine.
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