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Oil supplies to Poland via Druzhba pipeline to begin on May 20 - Russian energy minister

The Druzhba oil pipeline is used to pump oil to Belarusian oil refineries and further on to Europe via Belarus, Poland and Ukraine

JEDDAH, May 19. /TASS/. Supplies of Russian oil to Poland via the Druzhba oil pipeline will begin on May 20. In several days, the oil will reach Slovakia’s border, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Sunday.

"We are normalizing the process in compliance with the roadmap. Oil pumping to Poland will begin on Monday. We expect that is several days the oil will reach Slovakia’s border," he said.

The Druzhba oil pipeline is used to pump oil to Belarusian oil refineries and further on to Europe via Belarus, Poland and Ukraine.

Belneftekhim, a Belarusian petrochemical company, said in mid-April that the quality of oil transited from Russia via the Druzhba oil pipeline had deteriorated dramatically. As a result, a number of countries stopped the transit and refining of Russian oil. Poland, in particular, suspended transit of Russian oil in late April and in early May decided to use oil from its strategic reserves.

The source of pollution was spotted at the pipeline’s Samara-Unecha section. Transneft, a Russian oil major, said it had been done intentionally. A criminal case was opened over the incident. According to the Russian Investigative Committee, ‘dirty oil’ was injected in a bid to conceal thefts of oil.

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