North Macedonia: Requests the operation of the HELPE – OKTA oil pipeline due to Ukraine war

The government of North Macedonia is said to have scoped out the management of Hellenic Petroleum for the reopening of an oil pipeline between the Thessaloniki refineries and the OKTA oil facilities in Skopje that has been closed for the past nine years.

This is reported by OT sources, according to which the new government of the neighboring country has asked the Greek energy group to pick up the thread… of the negotiations from where it was left last spring, when the then Prime Minister Zoran Zaev had set the issue of the operation of the pipeline to the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

War in Ukraine

According to reports, the new government was mobilized after the turmoil caused by the Ukrainian war on Europe’s energy efficiency. North Macedonia wants to open the taps of the pipeline again so that there is a safe and alternative supply of their country with petroleum products from HEL.PE.

The Greek company is reportedly willing to start talks with the Skopje government as the reopening of the pipeline will achieve significant cuts in the cost of road transport of oil products to the neighboring country.

The two sides came very close last May to finding a common solution to the issue, but political developments in the neighboring country froze any processes.

It is worth noting that the oil pipeline ceased to operate in 2013 when the Hellenic Post Office deemed the refining activity of OKTA unprofitable. The 213 km long pipeline has a capacity of transporting 350,000 metric tons of oil and before 2013 it was transporting crude oil from the Thessaloniki refineries to the OKTA unit in Skopje.

Pending issues

For the oil pipeline, HELPE claims after court decisions compensations for the non-fulfillment of contractual obligations of North Macedonia during the period 2008-2011 regarding the quantities of import of crude oil.

The Greek oil company is claiming $ 32 million in damages, while in 2007 they had won another decision of the International Court of Arbitration for compensation of $ 52 million.

Last May, the two sides agreed to find an out-of-court agreement with the HELPE to propose investments both in RES projects in the neighboring country and in the conversion of OKTA facilities into petroleum transportation hubs for other neighboring countries where the Greek oil group is active.