BUDAPEST (Reuters) -Crude oil shipments via the Druzhba pipeline could resume as soon as August 27 or 28, though the pipeline from Russia might not run at full capacity, Hungarian oil company MOL’s executive chairman told website mandiner.hu.
Hungary and Slovakia said on Friday that oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline could be suspended for at least five days after Ukraine’s latest attack on Russian energy infrastructure.
MOL’s Zsolt Hernadi said in the interview on mandiner.hu that his company was able to supply its refineries from operational reserves, but may have to fall back on strategic reserves.
If MOL had to increase imports via the Adriatic pipeline, it would still import Russian oil because Hungary and Slovakia were granted an exemption from sanctions, Hernadi said.
He added that he was not sure that MOL would be able to import sufficient volumes of crude via the Adriatic pipeline to run both of its refineries at full capacity if shipments via Druzhba were halted entirely.
If Druzhba oil flows do not resume by September 1, Slovakia will need to tap its strategic reserves and its refinery will not be allowed to export, Hernadi said, cutting Hungary’s fuel imports by 20% while also affecting Ukraine.
“One seventh of Ukraine’s diesel needs are supplied by the refinery in Slovakia through Hungary … and this will immediately stop,” Hernadi said.
(Reporting by Krisztina Than and Anita KomuvesEditing by David Goodman)
