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approximately 1 km offshore in Sandford plans,” PERN said in a statement. Slovenia and intends to increase its stake to
Bay, close to the SSE Peterhead Power PERN’s customers are Polish and 33%. The transaction includes 120 retail sites
Station. German refineries. The Polish ones, owned in Slovenia and the company’s wholesale
Geo Ocean III will then continue to carry by state-run PKN Orlen and Lotos, have operations.
out a subsequent geophysical survey from been importing most of their crude from After the acquisition, INA and Mol will
the Buchan location to the Forties Pipeline. Russia via the pipeline. become 100% owners of OMV Slovenia. The
On 9 July, GeoSurveyor X will begin PKN Orlen declined to comment. Lotos main fuel supplier for all already existing and
the geophysical and EBS survey of the said that it had been informed about the newly acquired INA and MOL service stations
nearshore section of a proposed subsea cable planned break. in Slovenia will be INA.
route between Buchan Fixed Facilities and “These events... do not affect the “This way the captive market for our
Sandford Bay. operation of the Gdańsk refinery,” Lotos Rijeka Refinery is granted and therefore the
Two potential cable route options are press office said. refinery’s long-term future is ensured, where
being surveyed, which respectively terminate the implementation of the strategic project of
at landfalls to the south and north of the building the delayed coker unit is on-going.
Powerstation. Former CEO of Croatian This acquisition shows that together with
GEOxyz plans to begin the geophysical MOL we continue to realise our strategic goals
survey at the location between 15 and 21 July pipeline operator Janaf of strengthening INA’s and MOL Group’s
and the geotechnical survey between 9 and presence in the region,” Sandor Fasimon,
21 August, both scheduled to take up to 16 released from detention president of INA’s management board, said in
days, weather dependant. the press release.
The Greater Buchan Area development, A court in Zagreb released Dragan Kovacevic, MOL holds a 49% stake in INA and
located off the UK coast, contains an the former CEO of state oil pipeline operator exercises management rights in the company.
aggregate of 172 million barrels of oil Janaf, from detention after all the witnesses in OMV Slovenia operates the second largest
equivalent (mmboe) 2C contingent resource the Janaf graft case had been questioned, N1 retail network in Slovenia with 120 retail sites
estimates of light sweet crude and associated reported on May 27. operating under the brands OMV, Euro Truck
gas. Kovacevic was first detained in December and Avanti/Diskont.
In early March, Jersey Oil & Gas revealed 2020, before being released. He was re-arrested
its preferred development concept for the in February along with 16 others, including
project, shortly after which the company a judge of the Commercial Court in Zagreb, Bulgaria probes Russian oil
launched the farm-out process of the Greater on suspicion of wrongdoing in bankruptcy
Buchan Area and started talks to raise funds proceedings. He was subsequently released, giant Lukoil’s local port
to progress the work.. only to be arrested for the third time in April. s
Kovacevic’s third arrest was on accusation of Bulgarian tax inspectors and customs officials
taking bribes for fixing jobs. will probe Russian oil giant Lukoil’s port near
Transneft to halt oil supplies received a bribe from Kreso Petek, the owner the Black Sea city of Burgas, aiming to gather
Croatian prosecutors suspect that Kovacevic
complete information about the oil terminal’s
to Poland due to pipeline of the Elektro Petek company. Allegedly, Petek operations, caretaker Economy Minister
Assen Vassilev said in an interview with Radio
also gave bribes to former Velika Gorica mayor
maintenance and former Croatian Democratic Union MP, Free Europe.
Lukoil has had a 35-year concession since
Drazen Barisic, and former Social Democratic
Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft Party MP and former Nova Gradiska mayor 2011, granted by former prime minister
said on June 9 it will halt oil shipments to Vinko Grgic. In return, his company was Boyko Borissov’s first government. Borissov
Poland via the Druzhba pipeline for four awarded projects for millions of euros. is suspected of having close ties with Lukoil’s
days to carry out maintenance work, the Back in December, the police found €1mn former CEO Valentin Zlatev.
Interfax news agency reported. in Kovacevic’s garage. He has claimed the According to Vassilev, inspectors are
The Soviet-built Druzhba pipeline, named money belonged to his business partners and gathering information to verify whether
after the Russian word for friendship, links was intended for the purchase of 250 ha of land Lukoil has been declaring its corporate
Russian oilfields to European refineries in Slavonia. tax correctly, and particularly whether the
and has the capacity to pump 1mn barrels Russian oil is first being transferred to another
per day (bpd). country and then to Bulgaria at higher prices.
Polish pipeline operator PERN said INA, MOL to acquire OMV’s Lukoil, which owns the largest oil refinery
that the halt of supplies has been agreed on the Balkans, also located near Burgas, has
between the operators and their clients and Slovenian assets paid almost no corporate tax to the state in the
that deliveries are expected to restart on last ten years.
June 12. Croatian oil and gas company INA and Vassilev said that results from the
“Technological breaks in supplies from Hungary’s MOL have agreed to acquire investigation are expected within one or two
the east that last 1-3 days are routine and Austrian OMV’s 92.25% stake in OMV weeks.’
occur practically every month, of which Slovenia, INA said in a press release on June 8.
PERN is informed in monthly delivery INA already holds 7.75% stake in OMV

P16 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 23 10•June•2021