Hungary may receive Russian oil via Croatia, but there’s a huge problem

A legal loophole could allow Russian oil to come to Hungary via Croatia. However, that amount will not be able to serve two refineries.

Russian oil may come to Hungary via Croatia

MOL refinery in Százhalombatta russian oil

Photo: FB

Ukraine may eventually block all Russian oil supplies through the Friendship II pipeline. In preparation for this, three Russian oil companies have already started to divert their supplies to seaports, as Daily News Hungary reported.

According to Portfolio, a “legal loophole” can be exploited for these to reach Hungary and Slovakia via the Adriatic pipeline from Croatia. However, there is a problem: the pipeline has a much more limited capacity than the two countries need.

Tamás Pletser, an analyst at Erste Befektetési Plc., told RTL News that “if the supply through the Friendship pipeline stops, it means that in the short term, the MOL Group will be in a difficult situation, because the Adriatic pipeline can supply oil from the sea, but it cannot fully meet the demand of the company’s two refineries”.

According to the Hungarian News Agency (MTI), Slovakia said on Friday it had proposed a technical solution to Ukraine to restore oil supplies to refineries in Slovakia and Hungary, following warnings that a partial shutdown could lead to fuel shortages as early as early September.

As we reported, a Ukrainian sanction that came into force at the end of June has halted Russian Lukoil’s oil supplies to MOL via Ukraine, as the Russian company cannot lease the Ukrainian pipeline network for transit.

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3 Comments

Zoltan says:

28/07/2024 at 02:05

Hozzanak olajat hajoval a Fekete tengeren keresztul fel a Dunan
Mario Xlocal says:

28/07/2024 at 10:45

As for Hungary, Viktor Orbán is an asshole towards Croatia. I wouldn’t even allow him water through Croatia.
IE says:

29/07/2024 at 12:30

Hungary as part of EU and the open market of EU so fuel can be transported from everywhere and it is also done currently like that . Not all petrol stations are being supplied by MOL refineries only. So there WILL NOT be deficit with sure!
Second-MOL is a private company/strangely or not with 20 % stake of Russian oligarchs/
Third-MOL declared around 2 years ago that they can diverse the 69% of the oil supplies from other than Russian sources
Fourth – Ukraine is not stopping the transit for Hungary or Slovakia but execute an order for sanctions against aggressor company which pay taxes there and these are money used for killing people in Ukraine… and that after 2.5 years of war within this time MOL company sucked bloody oil. Hasn’t MOL had enough time to make diversification? 2.5 years…I think it was pretty generous from Ukraine side to give 2.5 years to MOL to start making diversification of their oil supplies/Like all EU refineries already did long tie ago/
So Orban and Sijarto are crying for what-for helping the Hungarian people or for saving the asses of some Russian oligarchs. Based the facts above it is pretty much obvious it is the second…as always they do of course