Kazakhstan launches oil exports to Hungary via Croatia

On Aug. 4, KazMunayGas (KMG, a subsidiary of Samruk-Kazyna) exported its first batch of oil to Hungary via Croatia, according to the company’s press release. The shipment, totaling 85,000 tons of Kazakh oil, was part of a strategic expansion of cooperation between KMG and Hungary’s MOL Group.

Kazakh oil is transported via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) to the Port of Novorossiysk in Russia. From there, maritime delivery to Croatia’s Port of Omišalj was handled by national carrier Kazmortransflot — a KMG subsidiary — aboard its tanker Alatau. The oil is scheduled to continue via the Adria oil pipeline, operated by Croatian company Jadranski Naftovod (JANAF), en route to the Százhalombatta Refinery in Hungary, its final destination.

Upon the vessel’s arrival in Croatia, representatives of KMG, MOL Group and JANAF held a meeting to discuss further cooperation. Following the talks, KMG and MOL Group signed a framework agreement for future oil deliveries.

KMG highlighted that this step allows Kazakhstan to significantly expand the geography of its oil exports to European Union markets. The traditional route for delivering oil to Hungary from the former Soviet Union is the Druzhba pipeline, which Kazakhstan uses to supply oil to Germany.

Hungary’s MOL Group operates in more than 30 countries worldwide, managing three oil refineries and two petrochemical plants in Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia. KMG and MOL Group are successfully cooperating at the Rozhkovskoye gas and condensate field in the West Kazakhstan region.

JANAF is the operator of Croatia’s oil pipeline system. The company manages the Adria oil pipeline network within Croatian territory, as well as an oil terminal on the island of Krk.