The pipeline connecting HELLENIQ ENERGY’s refinery in Thessaloniki to North Macedonia has been granted a new operating license by regulators in Skopje, reactivating an energy link that had sat idle for ten years. The development, described as a milestone for the company, was announced by HELLENIQ ENERGY’s CEO, Andreas Siamisiis.
North Macedonia’s energy regulator issued the license to VARDAX, a company in which HELLENIQ ENERGY holds an 80 percent stake and the state-owned NAVTOVOD owns the remaining 20 percent. The approval followed the validation of the pipeline’s technical and operational rulebook, along with the method used to set its maximum transport tariff.
The reopening enables HELLENIQ ENERGY to resume supplying petroleum products to North Macedonia via the pipeline and potentially strengthens the company’s reach into other Western Balkan markets, at a time when countries in the region are seeking alternatives to Russian crude.
Built in 2002, the 213-kilometre pipeline originally transported crude oil from Thessaloniki to the OKTA refinery in Skopje, which is also owned by HELLENIQ ENERGY. Its operation was suspended in 2013 when the company—then operating under the name Hellenic Petroleum—opted to convert OKTA into a storage and transit hub for the Western Balkans, and sought to repurpose the pipeline to carry refined products instead of crude. The necessary permits for this change, however, were repeatedly delayed, leaving the pipeline inactive.
Delays mounted further after 2020, when HELLENIQ ENERGY pursued compensation from North Macedonia, accusing it of failing to meet contractual obligations requiring the purchase of at least 500,000 tons of oil annually between 2008 and 2011. That dispute has now been resolved, with an arbitral tribunal awarding €32 million to the Greek company.
