Hellenic Petroleum chairman and CEO Efstathios Tsotsoros said on Wednesday that the existing oil pipeline between Thessaloniki and Skopje could resume operation as soon as the end of this year.
Speaking with the state-run AMNA news agency, Tsotsoros noted that both the Greek and North Macedonian sides are in talks with each other to make sure that the pipeline will reopen in the coming months.
The Thessaloniki-Skopje pipeline is owned by Vardax, eighty percent of which is owned by Hellenic Petroleum. North Macedonia holds the remaining 20 percent of ownership of the pipeline.
Current plans call for Greece to transport diesel oil to the neighboring country.
The two sides are expected to agree on the price for storing emergency oil reserves. They also must agree on accelerating procedures to harmonize North Macedonia’s legislation with EU legislation in order to achieve high European standards regarding the safety and supply of energy products.
The pipeline was completed in 2000 and it was inaugurated in 2002.
However, the pipeline stopped operation several years later due to disagreements between the two sides about transaction issues.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
