KYIV. Nov 12 (Interfax-Ukraine) - Petroleum products, imported by LLC Rompetrol-Ukraine (Odessa), have not been able to pass through customs since early November, the company's press service said.

"Rompetrol-Ukraine paid an advance payment into the [Ukrainian] State Customs Service account on time for the customs clearance and taxes. Customs officers said they wanted to perform sample tests to confirm the quality of the gasoline, but for unknown reasons did not do so and are not accepting the declaration, delaying the customs clearance procedures for the fuel," the press service cited the company's CEO, Andrei Kuzmenko, as saying.

The Kherson oil base is overstocked with gasoline, he said. It has 10,000 tonnes of premium A-95 gasoline produced by the Petromidia refinery (Constanta, Romania), which has yet to be processed. "Ukraine will receive another two tankers in the next few days with over 20,000 tonnes of petroleum products, and there will be nowhere for them to go," Kuzmenko added.

Rompetrol-Ukraine is concerned with the delay in the customs clearance procedures. "Fuel provision for the southern regions is under threat. Disruption in the schedule of wholesale gasoline and diesel fuel supplies from Romania could destabilize the work of several Ukrainian retail operators," he said.

The State Customs Service said the state laboratory is currently checking Rompetrol fuel complies with its declaration. "The declaration was accepted on the seventh, samples have been chosen and they are undergoing studies," a spokesman for the service told Interfax.

A survey of oil traders carried out by Interfax last week showed that the Ukrainian State Customs Service again delayed clearance procedures for gasoline from certain importers. These affected Socar Energy Ukraine and KLO.

Earlier the State Customs Service suspended customs clearance for gasoline imports from October 19 to 23. This affected all the main suppliers: