The final decision on the disputed oil in the Polotsk-Ventspils pipeline will be made in October 2013.
13/08/20120 views
13 August, Minsk /Anna Kot - BELTA/. The final decision on the disputed oil in the Polotsk-Ventspils section of the oil pipeline will be made by the Supreme Court of Latvia in October 2013. This was announced to a BELTA correspondent by Vasily Drobotov, Director of Polotsktransneft Druzhba OJSC.
"The lifting of the arrest by the Supreme Court of Latvia on the technological oil in the Latvian section of the Polotsk-Ventspils main oil pipeline does not mean the end of the consideration of this case by the Latvian judicial authorities. The final decision will be made during the court hearing in October 2013," noted the head of the Belarusian joint-stock company, commenting on the decision made last week by the Supreme Court of Latvia to lift the arrest on the disputed technological oil located in the section of the Polotsk-Ventspils main oil pipeline belonging to the Latvian-Russian company LatRosTrans.
At the same time, Vasily Drobotov noted that the enterprise and its owner were prepared for such a turn of events. "Various developments were expected. We were prepared for this option as well," he said. The decision on the further actions of the enterprise in connection with the current situation will be made by its owner. Polotsktransneft Druzhba OJSC is part of the Belneftekhim concern, and 100% of the enterprise's shares belong to the state.
As previously reported, Polotsktransneft Druzhba OJSC and the Latvian-Russian company LatRosTrans LLC are claiming the technological oil in two oil pipelines in Latvia: Polotsk-Ventspils and Polotsk-Biržai-Mažeikiai. The dispute between the companies arose in connection with LatRosTrans LLC's intentions to displace the technological oil, which is on the balance sheet of the Belarusian enterprise, from its section of the Polotsk-Ventspils oil pipeline.
In December 2011, the Latgale Regional Court dismissed the claims of JSC "Polotsktransneft Druzhba" for recognition of ownership and possession rights over 110 thousand tons of technological oil in the main oil pipelines located in Latvia, and for recovery of damages from LLC "LatRosTrans" in the amount of 13.04 million lats, caused by the displacement of 40 thousand tons of technological oil from the Polotsk-Ventspils main oil pipeline section. This court decision did not enter into legal force, as it was appealed by the Belarusian enterprise, which filed an appeal with the Civil Cases Chamber of the Supreme Court of Latvia. The date for its consideration was set by the court for October 2013. In turn, the Supreme Court, having considered the private complaint of the Latvian-Russian enterprise, decided to lift the ban on oil displacement, while upholding its arrest.
Last week, the court decided to lift this arrest as well. This court decision is not subject to appeal. At the same time, the head of LLC "LatRosTrans" Igor Stepanov announced his intention to continue the initiated conservation of the Polotsk-Ventspils oil pipeline. The company plans to begin preparations for pumping out oil and cleaning the pipeline in the near future.
JSC "Polotsktransneft Druzhba" is the legal successor of the Novopolotsk Republican Unitary Enterprise for Oil Transportation (NRUPTN) "Druzhba", which was transformed into JSC "Polotsktransneft Druzhba" at the end of 2010. The main task of the joint-stock company is the transportation of Russian oil from the West Siberian region, Tatarstan and the Volga region to Belarus (JSC "Naftan"). The oil pipelines operated by the organization also allow for transit transportation of oil to the Baltic countries.
LLC "LatRosTrans" is a Latvian-Russian joint venture in which JSC "Ventspils Nafta" owns 66% and JSC "Transnefteproduct" owns 34% of the charter capital. The enterprise ensures the transportation of oil and oil products through main pipelines in Latvia. The length of LatRosTrans' main pipelines exceeds 700 km.
BELTA