The refinery in Sisak (50 kilometres southeast of Zagreb) is already being provided with the Russian oil which is transported through pipelines via Hungary.
In order to deliver oil to the Rijeka refinery, it is necessary to upgrade pipelines running from Sisak to Urinje, where the refinery is situated. This will facilitate the transfer of three million tonnes of oil annually to Rijeka by land, which will render oil transport by sea to the Omisalj terminal on the island of Krk unnecessary.
The implementation of this plan requires the upgrading of the JANAF section from Sisak to Rijeka, which has been envisaged by the Druzba Adria project.
At the same time, refineries in the Serbian cities of Novi Sad and Pancevo will be able to receive oil via Hungary and Sisak through the existing oil pipeline.
It will also be possible to connect the oil pipeline to the Italian seaport of Trieste and transport some 10 million tonnes of oil annually by land instead by sea, INA said in a statement on Thursday.
INA experts assess that the transport of Russian oil through pipelines in Hungary would decrease the transport of oil via the Adriatic by at least 16 million tonnes annually, which will minimise security risks which have caused concern in the Croatian public.
This strategy places emphasis on the modernisation of the Sisak refinery, but this will not be done to the detriment of the Rijeka plant.
Additionally, INA is not against the Druzba Adria project (on the transport of oil from Russia via oil pipelines in several European countries to the Croatian terminal of Omisalj), but it points to some possibilities and advantages of a reversible pipeline, the company said in the statement.