US Eases for 30 Days, but Janaf Must Still Comply with EU Sanctions

Although the US has temporarily eased sanctions against the maritime trade of Russian oil, this does not mean that Hungarian MOL and Slovak Slovnaft will be supplied with this oil through Janaf, as EU has not lifted the ban on direct or indirect purchase, import, or transfer of crude oil or petroleum products originating from Russia. Non-Russian oil is currently being transported without hindrance through Janaf’s pipeline to the Hungarian MOL group.

– Janaf has recently issued consent for the MOL group to accept nine tankers of non-Russian oil at the Omišalj Terminal, of which four have already been unloaded, and of the remaining five, three are scheduled to arrive during March, while two are expected in April. As always, Janaf remains the guarantor of energy supply security for the Republic of Croatia, the EU, and neighboring countries – Janaf stated in response to a query from Lider.

Additionally, Janaf emphasized that it has proven in the recent period that the transport of non-Russian oil through the transport system for the MOL Group is proceeding smoothly and in accordance with usual business processes and obligations undertaken, without deviations and without restrictions in delivery, thereby ensuring stable supply to Hungary and Slovakia.

Janaf: We are obliged to comply with all sanction regimes

Janaf also reminded that it is obliged to operate in accordance with the decisions of all bodies responsible for international sanction regimes, including the European Commission and the US OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control), in accordance with the policy of the Government of the Republic of Croatia.

It should be noted that OFAC on March 12 allowed the purchase and delivery of oil and petroleum products that had been held at sea or loaded onto tankers by that date, regardless of whether they are sanctioned or non-sanctioned vessels. This suspension of sanctions will last for 30 days.

– In order to increase the global reach of the existing supply, we are issuing a temporary authorization allowing countries to purchase Russian oil that is currently held at sea. This narrowly targeted, short-term measure applies exclusively to oil that is already in transit and will not bring significant financial benefits to the Russian government, which derives most of its energy revenues from taxes levied at the extraction site – stated US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in his post on social media X.

This decision followed the International Energy Agency‘s commitment to release 400 million barrels of oil from its reserves to stabilize the market, of which 172 million barrels are from the US strategic reserves.

EU Allows Exception Only for Supply via Druzhba Pipeline

However, Russian oil is not only under US sanctions but is also subject to a dual regime of bans due to EU sanctions. According to the relevant provisions of the European regulation on restrictive measures (Council Regulation (EU) No. 833/2014), direct or indirect purchase, import, or transfer of crude oil or petroleum products originating from Russia is generally prohibited.

This ban also applies to the direct or indirect provision of technical assistance, brokerage services, financing or financial assistance, or any other services related to the trade of Russian oil. For countries supplied via the Druzhba pipeline from Russia, this regulation provided an exception, but only concerning crude oil delivered exclusively in this manner, not by sea.

At this moment, several informed sources have confirmed to us that Croatia has not received any official announcements regarding the need to accept vessels carrying Russian oil.