Minister says oil firms must pay for more frequent quality checks

ANTALYA, Turkey Jul 26 (PRIME) -- Russian companies need to include additional pumping costs of tougher oil quality control into the tariffs, Energy Minister Alexander Novak told reporters on Friday.

“Who is to pay for it? If there are expenditures and they are additional, there is no escape from it … We’ve lived for many years when we checked quality every ten days and nothing happened. But since there is such a situation, this means that there is a need now to make it tougher, to make such analyses daily. This is (already) formalized,” Novak said.

Russia pumped oil contaminated with chlorides used to disguise an oil theft at a small company to Europe in April. The problem is now solved, but oil pipeline monopoly Transneft is now looking for ways to sell the contaminated crude.

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