The pipeline was built in 2002 to connect the HELLENiQ ENERGY Thessaloniki facility with the OKTA fuel refinery near Skopje. Now it will transport diesel, which is the main product in the wider region. There is an opportunity to supply Kosovo, Bulgaria, or Serbia, positioning the country as a logistic hub for diesel fuel.
The supply of Serbia has gained focus because of the US sanctions against companies using Russian oil, like the Serbian NIS, where Gazprom is a major shareholder. At the same time, the pipeline relieves the city of Thessaloniki from transport trucks necessary to supply the area.
The maximum annual transport capacity is approximately 2.5 million tons of diesel fuel. The pipeline has a diameter of 16 inches (0.406 m) and a total length of about 213 km, of which 69.7 km are on Greek territory. The system includes:
- Thessaloniki Terminal with a central control room, pumping station, flow metering system, and launching system for pipeline cleaning operations;
- an underground, corrosion-protected steel pipeline;
- three valve stations for operational and safety control;
The pipeline is commonly owned 80 % by Hellenic Petroleum and 20 % by the Macedonian state-owned Naftovod ad via the company Vardaks ad.
The pipeline was built in connection with the acquisition of the OKTA refinery by Hellenic Petroleum. When the refinery was operational, it transported crude oil. Transport was stopped in 2013. After a settlement by the International Court of Arbitration in Paris in favor of the company and against North Macedonia, along with a 21 million damage payment, the pipeline can work again once all permits are given.
See the full news on Faktor.mk
See more details on the arbitration history on BalkanWeb.com
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