Fuel companies should invest more

  • 2000-10-19
RIGA (BNS) - Riga Mayor Andris Argalis believes that oil companies Neste and Statoil should invest additional funds in the construction of new railway tracks around Ziemelblazma station for transporting their cargo.

In an interview on Latvijas Radio Oct. 12 Argalis said that both fuel companies so far had spoken only "half-truths" about the conflict with railway company Latvijas Dzelzcels, which refuses to transport Neste and Statoil's cargo through Ziemelblazma station.

The mayor said that the station on the outskirts of the Latvian capital was in very poor technical condition, so transportation of export cargo through Ziemelblazma would endanger the lives of residents in the neighboring area.

He stressed that Neste and Statoil, when developing the project of the joint terminal, did not provide for transportation of large fuel shipments to the terminal.

The conflict between Latvijas Dzelzcels and the two fuel companies arose after the railway company refused to transport fuel for export to the companies' terminal in the Riga port through Ziemelblazma station, citing technical problems.

Neste and Statoil have already turned to the Competition Council to determine whether the refusal by Latvijas Dzelzcels amounted to hindering of the fuel distributors' business.