MOSCOW, June 23. /TASS/. The European Union’s ban on deliveries of Russian oil via the northern branch of the Druzhba export pipeline to Germany and Poland as part of its 11th package of sanctions may entail negative consequences, experts told TASS.
The EU’s decision appears to be largely symbolic but may bring Europe closer to banning oil supplies via Druzhba’s southern branch, Sergey Kondratyev, sector head at the Institute of Energy and Finance, said.
"I believe this decision brings us closer to blocking of supplies over the southern branch also because the EU does not have a wide choice of new sanction measures now and the [European] Union has a broad opposition in place against oil supplies over the southern branch, including Poland, Germany and others," he said.
The decision of the EU concerning the northern branch of the Druzhba oil pipeline may have long-term implications for Russian oil exports, Nikita Blokhin of Alfa-Bank said. "This decision will not influence Russian companies and budget replenishment at the moment. Speaking about long-term prospects, such a decision envisions that sanctions on the project could remain in effect even after normalization of the geopolitical situation, including as regards the special military operation. In turn, this may lead to a significant decline in the country’s export potential," the expert noted.
Sanctions are not very likely to be imposed on the southern branch of the Druzhba oil pipeline, as evidenced by other EU decisions on the oil sector, Blokhin added.