Russian oil supplies to Europe via the southern branch of the Druzhba pipeline have been restored. “The Druzhba pipeline is again supplying oil to Slovakia, supplies from Hungary will likely resume tomorrow,” a spokesman for Slovakian oil company Slovnaft said on Wednesday, August 10.

According to the representative, Slovnaft and the Hungarian parent company MOL offered to pay fees for the transit of Russian oil through the territory of Ukraine, and this offer was accepted by both the Ukrainian and Russian sides. MOL’s concern announced the payment of the transit fee for August.

Payment interruption due to Western sanctions

Russian operator Transneft announced yesterday that oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline was halted on August 4 as Russia failed to pay the appropriate fee due to Western sanctions imposed against the backdrop of the Russian armed invasion of Ukraine.

The Druzhba pipeline runs from Samara to the territory of Belarus, where it is divided into two branches. The north passes through Poland, Germany, Latvia and Lithuania. In the south – oil through Ukraine reaches the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. On August 4, Ukrtransnafta stopped pumping oil through the southern branch of Druzhba.

At the end of May, the European Union passed a partial embargo on Russian oil imports. At the same time, an exception was made for the supply of oil through the southern branch of Druzhba to Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.