ZAGREB ZAGREB, Dec 16 (Hina) - Senior officials of Croatia, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Slovakia, and Hungary signed in Zagreb on Monday an agreement to support a project envisaging the integration of the Druzba and Adria oil pipelines,
which pass through said states.
ZAGREB, Dec 16 (Hina) - Senior officials of Croatia, Russia,
Belarus, Ukraine, Slovakia, and Hungary signed in Zagreb on Monday
an agreement to support a project envisaging the integration of the
Druzba and Adria oil pipelines, which pass through said states.
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The deal was signed by Croatia's Economy Minister Ljubo Jurcic,
Russia's Deputy Energy Minister Vladimir Stanyev, Ukraine's deputy
state secretary Jury Anatolyevich Boyko, the vice president of
Belarus' state oil pipeline and chemical concern Belneftekhim,
Sergei Mihailovich Mishin, the Hungarian Economy and Transport
Ministry's deputy state secretary, Gyorgy Hatvani, and the
Slovakian Economy Ministry's state secretary Laszlo Pomothy.
The agreement represents the technical integration of Druzba and
Adria, two 3,200-km-long oil pipelines connecting the Russian town
of Samara and Croatia's tanker port and terminal in Omisalj, and has
enormous economic significance for Croatia, said Prime Minister
Ivica Racan.
Croatia's participation in the project reflects the government's
decision to focus on infrastructural projects which are vital for
the state's long-term economic development, he added.
The Druzba and Adria pipelines meet in Hungary's Szazhalombatti and
already can bring oil from Russia to Sisak in Croatia, said Economy
Minister Jurcic. Croatia has to enable the transport of oil from
Sisak southwards to Omisalj, a US$20 million investment that has to
be realised in the next 12 months, he said.
Croatia's participant in the project which goes into effect in 2004
is the JANAF pipeline. In the first stage of realisation, JANAF's
300 km should transport five million tonnes annually, which should
increase to ten million in the second and 15 million tonnes in the
third stage.
The agreement signed today is valid for ten years with the automatic
renewal for the next decade unless the parties agree to the
contrary. The port of Omisalj gives Russia's oil manufacturers
access to new markets, including the United States.
Besides economic integration, the Druzba Adria project has
outstanding political and security significance for the countries
involved as it merges the energy policies of the Russian
Federation, the European Union, the U.S., as well as of the other
states involved, reporters were told.
Croatia's officials stressed the importance of protecting the
environment. Prime Minister Racan announced Croatia would initiate
the signing of an agreement among Adriatic countries to secure the
protection of the environment, the sea particularly.
The Druzba Adria project will boost JANAF's annual turnover to some
80 tankers which, however, is still not the pre-war level when not
one ecological incident was recorded. JANAF has been built to meet
world environmental protection standards, CEO Vesna Trnokop Tanta
stressed.
(hina) ha