SOCAR, Rosneft tie-up on fuel supplies to Ukraine, other countries

Azerbaijan’s state energy company SOCAR and Russia’s oil and gas giant Rosneft (ROSN.MM) have signed a deal to supply oil products and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to Ukraine and other countries, a SOCAR spokesman said on Monday.

The deal is likely to pave way for the resumption of Rosneft’s exports of fuel to Ukraine, which has faced with the prospects of diesel shortages.

Rosneft has been looking for an agent to facilitate its deliveries of fuel to Ukraine after Swiss trader Proton Energy, its former exclusive supplier of diesel and LPG to Ukraine, suspended shipments of Russian diesel to the country in April.

The operations were halted after a ruling by Kiev’s Supreme Anti-Corruption Court led to the seizure of diesel, owned by the Swiss-based trader, that was in the pipeline from Russia.

“SOCAR has signed a deal with Rosneft on the rights to sell oil products in Eastern Europe, Poland, Ukraine, the Baltic states and so on,” SOCAR’s Ibrahim Akhmedov said.

He added that the parties have been still in talks on when the deliveries would start.

reuters