Hungary's MOL orders tankers to replace stalled Druzhba pipeline oilreplace stalled Druzhba pipeline oil
Hungary's MOL Group has turned to seaborne oil from Saudi Arabia, Norway, Kazakhstan, Libya and Russia to supply its refineries in Hungary and Slovakia after the Druzhba pipeline halted. Ukraine attributes the outage to a Russian attack on January 27, forcing MOL, the last EU recipient of Russian oil via the pipeline, to halt diesel exports to Ukraine and tap state reserves. Slovakia approved a loan of 250,000 tonnes of oil on Wednesday.
Hungary and Slovakia requested European Commission approval to import Russian oil by sea through Croatia if pipeline supplies fail, while MOL plans a new pipeline linking its refineries by 2027. This ensures short-term fuel security amid EU sanctions exemptions but highlights ongoing vulnerabilities in regional energy supplies tied to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
- Druzhba pipeline originates in Almetyevsk, Russia, named 'friendship' in Russian.
- MOL Group founded in 1991 from merger of Hungarian state oil firms.
- Omišalj port on Croatia's Krk Island handles major Adriatic oil imports.
Russia-Ukraine War
Russia and Ukraine are locked in an retaliatory long-range drone and missile war that now strikes deep into both countries, including Moscow, St. Petersburg, Crimea, and major Ukrainian cities like Kyiv and Dnipro. Ukrainian forces launched one of their largest drone attacks on June 26, striking 12 Russian regions and hitting key energy targets, while Russia continues massive retaliatory bombardments that kill civilians and destroy infrastructure.
26 June, 09:41 AM
Ukraine unleashes massive drone bombardment on 12 Russian regions24 June, 10:31 AM
Ukrainian drones knock out power in Russian-held Sevastopol22 June, 03:20 PM
Ukraine strikes Russian missile electronics plant in Voronezh
