Transit of Russian oil through the Druzba pipeline through Slovakia is suspended, both the oil transporter Transpetrol and the Ministry of Economy have confirmed. The Ministry of Economy says it is dealing with the situation. According to Transpetrol, the reason is the suspension of the Druzba pipeline's operation by the Ukrainian UkrTransNafta utility. Ukraine will resume oil supplies through the Druzba pipeline within a few days. It has agreed to a proposal for the payment of transit fees by the Slovak oil refining company Slovnaft belonging to the Hungarian MOL group. Slovnaft expects oil supplies to resume in the next few days, said the company’s spokesman Anton Molnár. According to him the Russian side has also agreed to this solution. The suspension of supplies concerns Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic, which are connected to the southern branch of the Druzba pipeline passing through Ukraine. Russia supplies approximately 250,000 barrels of oil per day through this branch. The main customers are Hungary's MOL and Unipetrol, controlled by PKN Orlen. However, deliveries to Poland and Germany through Belarus continue without changes. Russian oil imports as well as the Druzba pipeline are affected by the sixth package of sanctions approved by the European Union at the beginning of June. It includes a ban on the import of most Russian oil from the turn of the year. The transport of oil via the Druzba pipeline, which supplies the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, is temporarily exempted from the embargo. Since 4 August, Ukraine has stopped the transit of Russian oil through the southern branch of the Druzba pipeline, which leads, among other things, to the Czech Republic. According to the Interfax news agency, this was announced by the Russian pipeline operator Transneft. According to the Ukrainian pipeline operator Ukrtransnafta, it has stopped sending oil further due to non-payment of transit fees. The reason, according to the Russian side, is the restrictions imposed by the European Union, which prevented Ukraine from accepting payment from Russia.
Source: TASR
