MOSCOW, August 27 (WNM/TASS) - Vedomosti newspaper wrote with reference to sources that the current Chairman of the Board of Rosneft, Germany’s ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder had addressed a letter to Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, in which he suggested that an institute of independent inspectors for the Russian oil quality control should be set up.
A Rosneft representative told TASS that the company provides no comments on the official correspondence. Meanwhile, the company has already adopted the practice of additional control of the quality of crude oil, in which independent inspection organizations have been involved, he added.
“That is commonly practiced globally, which we suggest should be massively adopted in Russia as well. That will not only enhance transparency and tighten control over the quality of oil in the pipeline system, but also demonstrate to the market that an absolutely transparent and clear control instrument is used in Russia, that the quality of oil is stable and guaranteed by independent inspectors, the authority of which is not disputed on the international market,” Rosneft’s representative said.
He emphasized that now as the Russian suppliers’ “reputation has been hugely damaged and the European consumers’ faith in the quality of the Russian oil has been shaken, it is critically important to introduce such an instrument.”
Schroeder also suggested that requirements on the content of organochlorine compounds in crude oil should be tightened to 1 ppm (parts per million) from the current maximum level of 6 ppm, Vedomosti said.
Moreover, Schroeder considers it necessary to strengthen oversight of mini oil refineries up to and including their closure if they provide off-spec oil.
Speaking about measures to prevent incidents similar to contamination of the Druzhba pipeline, Chief Executive Officer of the Russian oil pipeline operator Transneft Nikolai Tokarev made a proposal at the meeting with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on August 19 to turn over to the company operational management of oil intake points currently owned by oil producers or private firms.
Vedomosti said referring to Prime Minister’s spokesman Oleg Osipov that Medvedev tasked Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak with listening to all arguments of Rosneft and Transneft, “formulate a position and submit it to Prime Minister for consideration.”
The Druzhba oil pipeline supplies oil to Belarusian refineries and provides its transit to Europe. In mid-April, a sharp deterioration in the quality of the Russian oil running through the pipeline was reported, after which the pumping of the Russian oil to Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Hungary and Slovakia was suspended. The pumping of on-spec oil via the Druzhba was resumed in May-June.
According to the updated technical regulation of the Eurasian Economic Union, the organic chlorides content in crude oil should not exceed 6 ppm starting July 1.