Baltic States – CIS, Energy, EU – Baltic States, Gas, Legislation, Lithuania

The Siauliai Regional Court on Mar. 29 dismissed Polocktransneft Druzhba's claim, but the operator can still appeal the ruling to the Lithuanian Court of Appeals.

Vytautas Joncas, spokesman for the Siauliai court, confirmed to BNS that the court has dismissed the claim filed by the Belarusian company, saying that one of the arguments was the expiration of the limitation period.

According to the first-quarter report of Poland's Orlen, Polocktransneft Druzhba believes that the so-called "technological oil" in the Lithuanian section of the pipeline was its property, a claim that Orlen Lietuva says "is without merit".

The Lithuanian media reported in 2015 that Orlen Lietuva had removed the remaining crude while repairing the closed Druzhba pipeline for environmental purposes, which had a positive one-off effect on the refinery's operating results.

Russia closed Druzhba in July 2006 immediately after the sale of the Mazeikiai crude refinery to Poland's Orlen. The official explanation for the shutdown was a need to repair the pipeline, but Lithuania never doubted that it was a political decision.