BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 14. The Croatian Jadranski naftovod d.d. (JANAF) company, managing the 631-kilometer Adria oil pipeline system in Europe and five oil terminals in Croatia, is interested in developing cooperation with one of its main oil suppliers, Azerbaijan, the Director of Technical Solutions at JANAF, Davor Galic told Trend.
"Our company oversees a pipeline network that links three oil refineries and five terminals in Croatia, as well as refineries in Slovenia, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Oil is also transported to Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Hungary via the JANAF Adria network.
Our pipeline system is strategically important for the EU, and we have oil storage facilities. Cooperation with SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan) could be of interest to the Azerbaijani side," Galic noted.
The JANAF oil pipeline starts on the Croatian Krk island, where one of the five JANAF oil terminals (Omisalj) is located, along with Rijeka port with its refinery. Oil is then sent from this port to refineries in Sisak and Brod, as well as through pipelines to neighboring countries.
"Oil from Azerbaijan goes to the island of Krk by tankers from Baku, and from there through our system. Azerbaijani oil, as well as oil from Kazakhstan and oil from African countries, are currently the main sources for JANAF. We have also started to receive oil from the US," the Croatian company's representative added.
Overall, the JANAF system can supply oil to 6 refineries in Southeastern and Central Europe, and this pipeline with several branches contributes to overcoming the energy crisis in the EU after the reduction of fossil fuel purchases from Russia.
The designed capacity of the JANAF pipeline is 34 million tons of oil per year, with an installed capacity of 20 million tons, of which about 40 percent goes to the domestic market of Croatia and 60 percent is transited to neighboring countries.
To note, Croatia purchased about one million tons of Azerbaijani oil, becoming one of the leaders in purchases of Azeri Light oil in 2023. A refinery of the INA company, whose shareholders include the Hungarian MOL Group company, operates in Croatia. MOL is a shareholder in the development project of the Azerbaijani Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli fields and sends its share of oil to its refineries in Europe, including INA.