FSUOGM: Kazakhstan eyes increased oil exports to EU via Croatia

Kazakhstan is preparing for negotiations on expanding its supplies via the under-utilised Adria pipeline that runs through Croatia, as it looks to seize market share once held by Russia.

State-owned KazMunayGas (KMG) will hold talks on the issue with Croatian company Jadranski naftovod (JANAF), the Kazakh foreign ministry reported following a meeting between Kazakhstan’s ambassador to Croatia, Akylbek Kamaldinov, and JANAF’s chairman, Stjepan Adanic, on October 19. Negotiations will focus on delivering more Kazakh oil via Adria to customers in Balkan and Eastern European countries.

Adria starts at the Omisalj oil terminal on the Croatian island of Krk and runs through Serbia and Hungary, with branches splitting off into Slovenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. It is capable of flowing 34mn tonnes per year (tpy) – 680,000 barrels per day – but currently only transports around 400,000 bpd. Around 40% of that oil goes to consumers – the rest is transited to neighbouring countries. 

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