PJSC Ukrtransnafta believes that Ukrtatnafta’s requirements to prevent Belarusian companies from entering the Ukrainian market for light petroleum products are caused by competition concerns. This is stated in the official statement of the company.
According to Ukrtransnafta, a subsidiary named Naftogaz Oil Trading, established within the Naftogaz division, aims at purchasing and selling petroleum products for the benefit of all the enterprises of the Naftogaz Group, as well as its independent trading activity.
“We emphasize that the operation for the purchase of oil products at BNK-UKRAINE LLC fully complies with the requirements of the Ukrainian current legislation and has undergone the preliminary approval process within the framework of the relevant procedures of the Naftogaz Group and has been approved by the Supervisory Board,” the statement reads.
“At the same time, such an obviously negative reaction can be explained with the appearance of the new player in the oil trading market. Last fall, PJSC Ukrtatnafta had experience in purchasing and selling Belarusian gasoline and diesel fuel production from the Mozyr Refinery, as well as liquefied gas produced by the Russian oil and gas company Rosneft,” the PJSC noted.
A day before, Ukrtatnafta announced that it had addressed the President, NSDC Secretary O. Danilov, and CEO of Naftogaz A. Kobolyev, regarding the inadmissibility of Naftogaz of Ukraine’s involvement in the petroleum products import from sources related to Russian ‘sanctioned’ companies.
The Mozyr refinery is owned by Russian oil companies Rosneft and Gazpromneft and is 100% dependent on Russian oil supplies. Rosneft and Gazpromneft are sanctioned in Ukraine according to the NSDC decision from May 2, 2018. PJSC Ukrtatnafta believes that the above-mentioned trading operations are at least ‘toxic’, if not directly violate the law. In fact, the trading operations were initiated by Ukrainian state-owned companies Naftogaz of Ukraine and PJSC Ukrtatnafta along with companies whose shareholders are sanctioned companies that facilitated the annexation of part of the territory of Ukraine,” Ihor Kolomoiskyi’s statement reads.