BUDAPEST, September 9. /TASS/. Hungarian energy concern MOL has reached an agreement on the supply of Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia in accordance with the current sanctions of the EU and Ukraine, the company said in a statement on the website of the Budapest Stock Exchange.
"MOL Group has concluded agreements with crude oil suppliers and pipeline operators to secure the continuous transportation of crude oil on the Druzhba pipeline through Belarus and Ukraine, to Hungary and Slovakia," the statement says. According to the document, in 2024 the Group "will take over ownership of the affected volumes of crude oil at the Belarus-Ukraine border, effective from 9 September 2024."
"The updated transportation agreements and the new takeover arrangements of the crude oil fully comply with all relevant sanctions and provisions, including those of the EU and Ukraine," the statement says.
"The new arrangement provides a sustainable solution for crude oil transportation on the Druzhba pipeline," Gabriel Szabo, MOL Group Downstream Executive Vice President said as quoted in the document. He added that he considers the agreement a "great achievement."
On August 22, Reuters reported, citing Gergely Gulyas, head of the office of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, that MOL was negotiating a new pattern for the transit of Russian oil through Ukraine and was ready to take on the corresponding obligations. According to him, the new pattern would include obligations of the Hungarian concern for the transit of oil, but could be more expensive and riskier.
On July 17, Ukraine stopped the transit of Lukoil oil through its territory to Hungary and Slovakia due to Kiev's inclusion of the company on its blacklist. Energy supplies from Russia to these countries are carried out via the Druzhba pipeline, which passes through Ukrainian territory. Budapest and Bratislava demanded the immediate start of consultations with Ukraine through the mediation of the European Commission, stressing that Kiev’s actions are a direct violation of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. The European Commission refused to hold "urgent consultations" on Kiev's blocking of oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia. The EC cited "the absence of an immediate threat to the EU's energy security." Earlier, a TASS source in Brussels reported that blocking oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia "is in the interests of the European Commission," effectively strengthening discipline within the EU with regard to sanctions against Russian oil.