Reuters reported that Slovakia and Hungary said they had stopped receiving oil from main supplier Lukoil after Ukraine imposed a ban on shipping the Russian oil company's oil through its territory last month.
The move highlights the unstable nature of Russia's remaining oil supplies to Europe via the Soviet-built Druzhba pipeline - Russia's last major oil supply route to the continent.
Both Slovakia and Hungary said they were still receiving oil from other Russian companies despite Lukoil's suspension of supply.
Slovak oil transport company Transpetrol confirmed deliveries from Lukoil had stopped but supplies from other Russian exporters were arriving in Slovakia via Ukraine.
The Slovak Ministry of Economy also said that oil shipments from Lukoil - Russia's second largest oil producer - stopped flowing to Slovakia via Ukraine after the company was placed on Kiev's sanctions list.
However, the ministry said it had secured delivery from another supplier and was discussing the issue with its Ukrainian partners.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto announced that Russian gas is still transported to Hungary via the TurkStream gas pipeline in the Black Sea, but crude oil is no longer transported by Lukoil through Ukraine.
Mr. Szijjarto said: “Due to the new legal situation in Ukraine, Lukoil no longer delivers oil to Hungary and we are studying solutions to restart oil shipments because Russian oil is very important for energy security. our quality".
According to industry sources, about 1.1 million tons of Russian oil per month, or about 250,000 barrels per day, were transported through the southern branch of the Druzhba pipeline, of which about 900,000 tons were divided equally between Slovakia and Hungary.
The southern branch of the Druzhba pipeline runs through Ukraine to the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary and has been the main source of supply for these countries' oil refineries for many years. Rosneft, Lukoil and Tatneft are Russia's main exporters via this pipeline.
Two sources told Reuters that Russia's Urals crude through the Druzhba pipeline to Slovakia has dropped sharply compared to expected volumes.
Pipeline oil supplies to the Czech Republic continue to be normal, while flows to Hungary are slightly lower than planned.
Hungarian energy company MOL owns refineries in Hungary and Slovakia, both of which receive oil from the southern branch of the Druzhba pipeline.
According to industry sources, Lukoil has a fixed-term contract with MOL under which the company supplies about 4 million tons of oil per year to Hungary and Slovakia.
One of the sources said the lack of oil supply from Lukoil makes it difficult for MOL to continue operating stably.
MOL's Duna refinery in Hungary has more options to import crude, such as by sea from the port of Omisalj in Croatia. Meanwhile, Slovakia's Slovnaft oil refinery has to rely almost entirely on Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline due to its landlocked location.
Foreign Minister Szijjarto said the legal solution that MOL is studying will allow Lukoil to transport crude oil to Hungary via Ukraine and Belarus.
