OREANDA-NEWSResponding to a question about the possible reduction of the dividend threshold for Transneft due to supply problems for Druzhba, First Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Anton Siluanov called it wrong for the state to pay for the shoals of the company that supplies oil.  “Any questions can be discussed, but if you ask my opinion, it’s wrong that there will actually be budgetary compensation for the shortcomings of a company that has not fulfilled its contractual obligations to supply high-quality oil”, the minister told reporters.

On May 16, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, who oversees the fuel and energy complex, said that Transneft compensates for the real losses to all companies that have suffered damage due to the pollution of the Druzhba pipeline. At the same time, he added that Transneft’s compensation costs will be taken into account when approving its dividends. “Dividends are paid on the basis of net profit, and these will be costs. We will do everything to ensure that they are taken into account, ”said the Deputy Prime Minister. According to estimates by the Ministry of Energy, the total damage from the state of emergency will amount to no more than $ 100 million. Reuters has claimed that at least 5 million tons of oil has been polluted.

Problems with poor-quality oil began in late April. Contaminated raw materials were transported via the Druzhba pipeline to Belarus, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Ukraine. According to the investigation, bad oil got into the pipeline through the fault of a private company whose terminal is located near the Samara-Unecha trunk line. On April 30, the head of Transneft, Nikolay Tokarev, told Vladimir Putin that all pollution materials had been transferred to the FSB for further investigation.