Lukoil will resume supplying Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline to Slovakia and Hungary in October after Hungary's MOL reached a deal to ship crude via Belarus and Ukraine via the pipeline, two sources told Reuters.
Oil supplies will resume from October as September exports were planned in advance and are difficult to reroute. A source said Lukoil could reroute a small amount of oil this month via the Druzhba pipeline but there has been no progress so far.
This summer, Kiev banned Lukoil oil from being shipped via pipeline to MOL refineries in Hungary and Slovakia after putting the Russian group on its sanctions list.
Under the new agreements with suppliers and pipeline operators that came into effect on October 9, MOL said it would take ownership of the relevant crude oil at the Belarus-Ukraine border. Previously, Russian oil suppliers sold crude on a FIP (meaning the seller had to deliver the goods to the pipeline) basis in Hungary.
MOL will bear all transportation and other costs from the Belarus-Ukraine border to the company's refineries, the source said. Previously, Russia had to pay for oil transportation through Ukraine, which caused many complications amid the conflict.
Russian oil supplies via Druzhba in September are planned at 510,000 tonnes to Slovakia and 360,000 tonnes to Hungary. MOL’s refinery in Slovakia is scheduled to undergo maintenance at the country’s only crude distillation unit starting September 23, which will result in lower crude imports.
Russia's Tatneft and Russneft are considered the main crude suppliers to Slovakia and Hungary in September.
Russian oil is shipped via the Druzhba pipeline to Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic - countries exempted from the EU embargo on Russian oil due to limited opportunities to find alternative oil supplies.
The Druzhba pipeline is one of the world's largest oil pipelines, stretching some 4,000km. It carries oil from Russia to Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria and Germany.
