Oil cos want to delay ban on using gasoline tankers to ship oil by rail until Aug 1
MOSCOW. May 16. (Interfax) - Oil companies want a bank on shipping crude by rail tanker cars designed for gasoline to be delayed until August 1.
Sources at several oil companies told Interfax that the relevant request for Acting Transport Minister Igor Levitin was being drafted.
Rosneft , Gazprom Neft , Lukoil and Bashneft all confirmed the request was being drafted.
The Federal Transport Oversight Service (Rostransnadzor) at the beginning of May banned the shipment of oil in tank cars intended for transporting light oil products.
It was reported earlier that railroad operators were supposed to do this by April 1, bringing permit documentation for shipment of oil products in tank cars in line with current rules. RZD sent out a telegram about Rostransnadzor's order on March 26.
RZD tightened its requirements after a series of major rail road accidents, the latest of which took place at the end of January, when 17 tanker cars carrying oil were derailed in the Amur region. RZD has blamed defects, namely failure of the freight car axles, for the accidents, but Ukrainian manufacturer Azovmash claims they were not put to their intended use, that they should have been at least 20% but not more than 80% full.
The ban affects more than 30% of the tankers used to ship oil and dark petroleum products.
OJSC Khabarovsk Oil Refinery , part of Alliance Oil Company, could completely halt production within three days due to the impossibility of bringing in feedstock and exporting fuel oil by railroad, which will lead to a failure to supply the Far Eastern region with motor fuels.
Lukoil's press office said the company was not experiencing any particular problems yet but that there was some strain and that it was having to look for alternative rolling stock.
Gazprom Neft said it was not having any problems but that it was aware of the situation in the market and hope it would be resolved in the coming days.
Bashneft also said the problem was an industry-wide one and that oil producers were discussing it with profile agencies.
A source familiar with the situation said a special interdepartmental working group would discuss the situation on May 17.