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Slovakia, Hungary say Ukraine has halted Lukoil's Russian oil transit

Slovakia and Hungary said they have actually stopped getting oil from essential supplier Lukoil after Ukraine enforced a restriction last month on the transit of resources from the Russian energy business through its area.

The move highlights the unstable nature of the remaining Russian oil materials to Europe via the Soviet-built Druzhba pipeline, the last significant operating Russian oil supply path to the continent.

Both Slovakia and Hungary said they were still receiving oil from other Russian companies regardless of the halt of Lukoil products.

Lukoil decreased to comment.

Slovakian oil transporter Transpetrol said on Thursday that shipments from Lukoil had stopped but supplies from other Russian exporters were getting here in Slovakia through Ukraine.

Ukraine's state-run energy company Naftogaz was not immediately available for comment.

Slovakia's economy ministry stated on Thursday that oil deliveries from Lukoil, Russia's second-largest oil manufacturer, have stopped flowing to Slovakia via Ukraine following the company's inclusion on a Ukrainian sanctions list.

According to data from (Slovak oil transporter). Transpetrol, deliveries of Russian oil to Slovakia were not. stopped. The issue is, according to (Slovak refiner) Slovnaft,. deliveries of a concrete provider, Lukoil, the ministry stated.

It said Slovnaft had actually secured deliveries from another. supplier, and the ministry was talking about the problem with. Ukrainian partners.

Russia continues to supply gas to Europe through. Ukraine, despite Moscow's intrusion in February 2022 and the. ensuing military conflict, the biggest on the continent given that. the World War Two.

Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Tuesday. gas deliveries from Russia to Hungary were streaming unobstructed. through the TurkStream pipeline on the Black Sea, however petroleum. was no longer moved by Lukoil through Ukraine.

Due to a brand-new legal scenario in Ukraine, Lukoil is no. longer providing to Hungary, and now we are working on a. solution that would enable oil transit to reboot as Russian oil. is very crucial for our energy security, Szijjarto stated.

Industry sources said some 1.1 million metric tons per. month, or some 250,000 barrels each day, of Russian oil have been. exported by means of Druzhba's southern spur, of which around 900,000. loads are almost equally divided in between Slovakia and Hungary.

The southern branch of the Druzhba pipeline runs through Ukraine. to the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, and has been the. main source of supply for their refineries for several years. Rosneft. , Lukoil and Tatneft have been the primary. Russian exporters by means of the route.

2 sources, knowledgeable about the information, informed that. Russia's Urals unrefined supplies through the Druzhba pipeline to. Slovakia have been dramatically lower than their set up volumes.

They also said that oil products via the pipeline to Czech. Republic continue as typical, while flows to Hungary are a little. below the scheduled levels.

Hungary's energy business MOL owns refineries in. landlocked Hungary and Slovakia, both of which are fed by the. Druzhba pipeline's southern spur. Major investment is needed to. diversify MOL's Danube and Slovnaft refineries far from Urals. oil.

Lukoil has a term contract with MOL, under which it provides. some 4 million lots of oil annually to Hungary and Slovakia,. according to market sources.

Absence of oil supply from Lukoil makes it hard for MOL,. and particularly its Slovnaft refinery to continue stable. operations, among the sources stated.

MOL's Duna refinery in Hungary has more alternatives to import. petroleum, such as by sea from the Omisalj port in Croatia. Slovnaft needs to rely almost exclusively on Russian oil flows through. the Druzhba pipeline due to its landlocked position.

Szijjarto said on Tuesday that a legal option that MOL is. dealing with would permit Lukoil to transfer petroleum to Hungary. through Ukraine and Belarus.

(source: Reuters)