Croatia is ready to increase the capacity of the Adriatic oil pipeline to supply Hungary and Slovakia with crude in case of any disruptions to imports from Russia via the Druzhba pipeline, Hungary's foreign minister said, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.
European Union leaders gave concessions to Hungary in order to agree an oil embargo on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, sealing a deal in the early hours of Tuesday that aims to cut 90% of Russia's crude imports into the bloc by the end of the year.
With its embargo the bloc aims to reduce Moscow's income to finance the war it launched more than three months ago in Ukraine, but it exempted landlocked Hungary because the country relies on the Druzhba pipeline for oil.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said he had reached a long-term energy security co-operation agreement with Croatia's energy minister, whereby Hungary's southern neighbour would provide an alternative route for possible additional oil imports, if needed.
"Croatia is ready to provide a route for oil shipments towards Hungary, should they become necessary," Szijjarto said, adding that Hungarian energy group MOL would start talks with Croatian officials later in the day. MOL's downstream business model has been built on Russian crude shipped via the Druzhba pipeline that covers about 65% of the oil Hungary needs.
Shares in MOL rose more than 5% early on Tuesday after the EU exempted Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia from sanctions on Russian oil.
As per MRC, Hungary on Monday stuck to its demands for energy investment before it agrees to a Russian oil embargo, clashing with EU states pushing for swift approval of more European Union sanctions against Russia for invading Ukraine. The EU commission early this month proposed the new package of sanctions against the Kremlin but the measures have not yet been adopted, with Hungary being among the most vocal critics of the plan.
mrchub.com