The Azerbaijani network SOCAR Energy Ukraine, which owns 57 gas stations in Ukraine, reached last year's volumes of gasoline imports in June, director of the SOCAR Energy Ukraine network Igor Orlov said in an interview with a Ukrainian newspaper.
"We carry out more than 15 trips weekly with our own and rented fuel trucks. After the outbreak of the war, we significantly expanded the geography of deliveries. We began to import from Germany, Italy, Finland, and Greece, as well as to more traditional destinations: Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania, Romania, and Moldova. We started to import our own gasoline from Bulgaria in July.
It was easier for our company to reorganize because we have never sold fuel from Belarus, Russia, and domestic production. At the same time, having missed the opportunity to import by sea, we also faced logistical problems," Orlov said.
He believes that the company can reach a pre-war level of imports, but this depends not only on Ukraine but also on the importing countries: "The infrastructure of Europe was not designed to supply such volumes to Ukraine. The Ukrainian government and Ukrzaliznytsia are discussing with other countries the possibilities of widening bottlenecks.
"Here is an example: recently, the Minister of Economy, Yulia Sviridenko, went to Poland for the transshipment, which is located near the border. She agreed with the Polish authorities that this transshipment would work three shifts instead of one. As a result, throughput has tripled.
"But in Europe, many other nuances cannot be influenced. For example, according to their rules, if the air temperature rises above 35 degrees, then trains with fuel must stop. It significantly impacts the rhythm of deliveries, especially now that it's hot outside."
According to him, before the start of the war, Ukraine imported 70% of the oil products consumed in the country, mainly from Russia, Belarus, and by sea.
He emphasized that, at present, these channels are completely blocked: "In addition, Russian missiles destroyed about 20 Ukrainian oil depots. Also, due to hostilities, the Kremenchuk and Shebelinsky refineries, which provided about half of the gasoline consumption in the country, stopped.
Now, the imported oil products are brought across the western border by fuel trucks and railway tanks, with the fuel going directly to gas stations, bypassing oil depots. In June, Ukraine increased imports of diesel, gasoline, and liquefied natural gas to 20,000 tons per day, according to Naftorinka. Compared to May, diesel supplies increased by 70%. Gasoline rose by 40-45%. In April, one could only dream of such volumes. At that time, the maximum supply to Ukraine was at the level of 10,000 tons."