By Veronika Gulyas and Olga Razumovskaya
The suspension of oil product shipments to Hungary via Ukraine
won't have a substantial effect on oil firm MOL Nyrt.'s (MOL.BU)
operations, the Hungarian company said Tuesday.
MOL said Hungary received 815,000 metric tons of diesel fuel via
pipeline in 2013.
"MOL Group procures its raw materials for its four refineries
from numerous different sources, and this diversification ensures
the security and continuity of supply," MOL said in an email.
Last month, Russia's state-owned oil pipeline operator Transneft
halted diesel shipments to Ukraine and transit to Hungary because
of a dispute over pipeline ownership with Ukrainian
authorities.
"This is an ongoing dispute that had been carrying on since
2005," a Transneft spokesman said. A Ukrainian court confirmed
Transneft's ownership of the product line Monday.
The spokesman also said the company has received a letter from
Ukraine's energy ministry seeking consultation from the company
over the future of the pipelines.
Transneft said it is also concerned by the high level of diesel
fuel that has been stolen from the Ukrainian section of the
pipeline in recent years.
Czech state-owned crude oil importer Mero AS on Tuesday said
all crude oil deliveries to the country are taking place as
scheduled. There were no disruptions last week nor this week.
(Sean Carney in Prague contributed to this article.)
Write to Veronika Gulyas at veronika.gulyas@wsj.com