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PM Orbán promises to present “evidence” regarding condition of Druzhba pipeline on Monday
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has announced that the government will present evidence on Monday morning regarding the condition of the Ukrainian section of the Druzhba oil pipeline.
Writing on his Facebook page on Sunday evening, the prime minister said that “extraordinary information” had been received over the weekend. He added that the government had gathered proof concerning the state of the pipeline and would make the findings public.
“We will not allow fuel prices to hit HUF 1,000”
In a separate post accompanied by a video recorded during a site visit to the refinery in Százhalombatta, Orbán said the government would not allow petrol prices to rise to HUF 1,000 per litre.
“We will break Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s oil blockade,” he wrote, suggesting that the suspension of supplies was politically motivated rather than technical in nature.
MOL chief warns of sharp price hikes
Standing next to the pipeline, MOL Group chairman and CEO Zsolt Hernádi explained in the video that even a small drop in crude oil output can have serious market consequences, MTI writes.
“Historically, a one-percent fall in oil production has led to a ten-percent increase in prices,” he said.
He noted that the pipeline had originally been designed to transport and process far larger volumes of crude. “Right now, however, no oil is coming through,” he added.
According to Hernádi, the Druzhba line has stopped operating 22 times since the outbreak of the war, 15 of those interruptions due to wartime causes. “Until now we have always been able to resolve the problems. This situation has suddenly changed, and we do not yet know why. We have offered technical assistance as well,” he said.
Government suspects political decision
Orbán described the current disruption as a “new situation”, calling it the 23rd shutdown of the pipeline. He said that previously operators had provided clear information about when deliveries could resume, but this time Hungary had been “misled”.
The prime minister suggested that the stoppage may be political rather than technical. Hernádi echoed this view, stating that in their assessment there is currently no technical reason that would justify halting operations.
The government is expected to present further details and evidence on Monday.
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Hough, the world champions of announcements have spoken, but mostly it remains just that: announcements, which are constantly repeated.
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