Experts believe the Odessa oil refinery is being targeted for destruction.
Experts believe that the Privat Group wants to become a monopoly in Ukraine's oil and gas sector by exploiting the plant's collapse.
The Odessa Oil Refinery is being deliberately driven into disrepair to create a monopoly. Lawyer Andriy Fedur announced this at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine.
According to him, there are two possible scenarios for the company. One is to bring the Odesa Oil Refinery to the brink of collapse and have it acquired by others at scrap metal prices. The other option is to eliminate the Odesa Oil Refinery as a competitor in the market, focusing on its environmental hazards.
The lawyer noted that it would be advantageous for someone to retain one or two oil refineries in Ukraine, concentrating the industry in a single hands and generating lucrative profits. Privat Group, in particular, is suspected of this, as under such conditions, it would become a monopoly in the domestic oil and gas sector.
Currently, tiles are falling from the buildings of the Odessa Oil Refinery, the area is covered in snow, and the sound of automatic gunfire was heard around six o'clock in the morning the other day, according to the refinery's general director, Vasily Ponomarenko.
Armed men who seized the plant in November are still on the plant's premises. "If someone fires a weapon at the plant's cistern, it could lead to an environmental disaster," noted lawyer Denis Serebrennikov. "Furthermore, the approximately 700-800 tons of petroleum products spilled from the ruptured pipeline into the soil will have an impact."
The specialist recalled that approximately 50 tons of petroleum products were discharged from the refinery's tankers, which were transported outside customs control. He described this as smuggling. At the same time, more than 10 tons of oil were diverted from the refinery via pipelines, and 910 tons by tanker.
Oil products are being removed from the plant by order of the Odesa Primorsky District Court, which transferred the fuel to Ukrtransnaftoprodukt, a company belonging to the Privat Group, without holding an auction or selling it through an exchange. Lawyers call this decision illegal.
According to them, it's currently unknown who is currently responsible for storing petroleum products at the refinery and overseeing the legality of their export and sale. "Those assigned to accept the fuel for storage don't have access to it," Fedur said.
The lawyers also noted that no one is currently investigating the situation with the enterprise and are confident that the competent government agencies will not interfere.
In addition, the company's management is expecting a claim from the owner of the company, the Cypriot company Soprema Trading Ltd, in the near future, which will demand the return of the exported petroleum products.
The refinery previously belonged to Lukoil, which has since exited the Ukrainian market. At the time, the facility processed up to 240 tons of petroleum products per month.
As Korrespondent.net reported, armed men seized the Odessa Oil Refinery on November 22. The invasion began when Ukrtransnaftoprodukt employees attempted to inspect tanks containing previously seized oil.
According to the company's lawyer, the purpose of the seizure is to steal oil from the Odessa Oil Refinery worth tens of millions of hryvnias.
On December 11, armed men at gunpoint forced workers at the Omsk Oil Refinery to pump petroleum products to the Sintez Oil company, which belongs to Igor Kolomoisky's Privat Group.
From December 16, management declared the refinery idle until further notice.
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