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Gazprom could participate in the building of a oil pipeline between Pitesti and Pancevo (Serbia)
The Department for Energy analyses the participation of the Serbian company NIS Gazprom Neft, owned by the Russian group Gazprom, at the construction of an oil pipeline between Pitesti and Pancevo (Serbia) which should interconnect the grids for oil transport between Romania and Serbia.
‘We analyse the participation of NIS Gazprom Neft in the project of the oil pipeline Constanta – Pancevo for the construction of the part of the pipeline Pitesti-Pancevo. After the withdrawal of Croatia from the PEOP projet, Romania and Serbia supported the necessity of the development of the project in a new concept, for the part between Constanta and Pancevo, this being the interconnection of the national grids for the transport of oil of the two countries’ Cornelia Condrea, the manager of the Department for oil and gas in the Department for Energy stated for Mediafax.
The project of the oil pipeline between Pitesti and Pancevo is a shortened variant of the former PEOP ( Pan European Oil pipeline) which aimed at the transport of oil from Constanta harbour to Trieste (Italy).In 2007, the European Commission proposed the extension of this pipeline to Marseille (France).
PEOP was to have a length of 1,400 km, to transport oil from the Caspian Sea to Constanta and then to the Italian port ofTrieste. At that time, the oil pipeline was supported to start work in 2012, the cost of the investment being estimated at 2-3.5 billion dollars.
The oil pipeline had the role of reducting the dependence of the EU to the oil deliveries from the Russian Federation and the countries in the Middle East. In 2010, the possibility of including Gazprom in the project was advanced.
Croatia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Italy signed in 2007 an agreement for the construction of PEOP.Only two years after this agreement, Italy, Croatia and Slovenia gave up the project, so that the only countries still interested in the investment Romania and Serbia reevaluated the project and established a new route, Constanta –Pancevo which was against modified, Pitesti-Pancevo respectively.
According to Condrea, among the elements in favour of continuing the project is the interest of the Serbian company NIS, controlled by Gazprom to develop an efficient oil supply route for its refinery in Pancevo.
The unit in Pancevo has an annual capacity to refine oil of almost 4.8million tons, close to 5 million tons of the Petromedia refinery, owned by the Kazah state KayMunayGas.‘Besides the project of the construction of a pipeline for the transport of oil between Constanta-Pitesti-Pancevo, another discussion was about the delivery and storage of fuel produced in the Pancevo refinery which will offer, besides the development of the project of regional importance, the extension of the investments of the NIS Gazprom Neft company to Romania’ Condrea said.
The NIS Petrol company controlled by Gazprom started to build filling stations in Romania and aims to have 120 filling stations by 2015 and a share of 10% on the market of fuel distribution. ‘The officials of NIS Gazprom Neft communicated in February that the Russian party will adopt a decision regarding the involvement in the development of a project for the transport of oil through the Constanta-Pancevo pipeline, following the feasibility study’ Condrea said.