UNITED NATIONS, July 24. /TASS/. Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto stated that preparations for the construction of a new oil pipeline between Hungary and Serbia are currently in an active phase, he said in an interview with TASS.

"We have just had a video call two days ago, with the participation of First Deputy Minister Sorokin and the Serbian Energy Minister madam Dedovic and myself, we are preparing the construction already, which can be finalizing in 2027," he said.

"Of course, you don't only have to be able to construct such a pipeline, but you have to be able to operate it. And in order to be able to operate it, you need a long-term commitment from the customer side. Therefore, now we are discussing the level of commitment the customers can make in order to enable MOL Hungarian oil company to operate the pipeline in a sustainable way," Szijjarto added.

In February, the Hungarian government announced that it would invest 320 mln euro over the course of three years into the construction of the pipeline, which would enable Serbia to receive crude oil delivered from Russia via the Druzhba pipeline. The planned capacity of the pipeline is approximately 5 mln metric tons per year. As Szijjarto previously stated, a feasibility study has already been completed for the project, which includes the laying of 180 km of pipeline within Hungary and 120 km within Serbia, as well as the construction of a metering station at the border between the two countries.

The pipeline will connect the refinery in Szazhalombatta, owned by Hungary’s MOL, to the city of Algyo in the south of the country, and from there to the Serbian city of Novi Sad. This will allow Hungary not only to serve as a consumer but also as a transit country for oil trade, while opening up new supply sources for Serbia. The Szazhalombatta refinery, located approximately 30 km south of Budapest, is Hungary’s largest oil refining facility and primarily processes Russian crude oil delivered via the southern branch of the Druzhba pipeline.

The project is being implemented by MOL and the Serbian company Transnafta. It is expected to be strategically important to both countries, given the rising cost of crude oil transit through Ukraine and Croatia.