ZAGREB: DEAL SUPPORTING DRUZBA-ADRIA OIL PIPELINE PROJECT SIGNED

ZAGREB, Dec 16 (Hina) - An agreement to support the integration of the Druzba and Adria oil pipeline was signed in Zagreb on Monday by the six countries the pipeline passes through - Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungary, and Croatia. #L# The agreement is valid for ten years and will be automatically renewed for another decade. It is economically important for Croatia's JANAF pipeline but will also contribute to stability in central and south eastern Europe, reporters were told. An agreement on connecting pipelines from Croatia's port of Omisalj to Russia was signed by several oil companies and JANAF in Moscow on April 29. The deal provided the basis for a new transport route for Russian oil to world markets with reloading in Omisalj, and was a precondition for the signing of the agreement supporting the Druzba and Adria integration project and of individual deals between transport companies and the oil supplier. The tariff agreed on for the use of the pipeline is US$0.64 per one hundred kilometres, while the reloading fee is yet to be defined, reporters were told. CEO Vesna Trnokop Tanta said JANAF assumed the obligation to complete a US$50 million investment within the next 12 months to increase capacities which would enable Croatia to transport ten million tonnes of oil annually. (hina) ha