MOL CEO Hernádi: No damage to Druzhba pipeline, diesel shortage expected; Zelensky: give something for crude delivery restart

Zsolt Hernádi, the chairman-CEO of Hungarian oil and gas company MOL, said there was no damage to the Druzhba pipeline in an interview with commercial broadcaster ATV late Monday.

No damage to Druzhba pipeline, says MOL CEO

“We can say, in good conscience, that there was no damage to the Druzhba pipeline itself,” Hernádi said. After the outbreak of a fire following a strike, he said the Ukrainians had delivered 35,000 tonnes of crude to MOL to mitigate the problem. “At that time, there was no problem with the pipeline,” he added.

The Ukrainians told MOL deliveries through the pipeline would restart after the fire was extinguished, in 2-3 days, Hernádi said. When deliveries did not restart, the Ukrainians told MOL it was because a decision had not been taken, he added.

“Not taking a decision is difficult to call a technical problem,” he said. Talks with the Ukrainians, who say work is still underway, are ongoing, he added.

Crude, diesel, gas prices will increase, diesel shortage expected

Hernádi said most tankers were waiting out the situation at the Strait of Hormuz, and pointed to an immediate increase in crude, diesel and gas prices, but added that the global market impact of the delivery choke point was still “impossible to predict”.

Asked about potential supply problems on the local market, Hernádi said the interruption of crude supplies through the Druzhba had exacerbated risks. He added that there was a diesel shortage in Central Europe at present, with imports meeting about one-third of demand.

Earlier, much of Europe’s diesel would have come from Russia, but that source of supply was phased out due to sanctions policies from the start of 2025, he said. “Those policies weren’t thought through very well,” he added.

Oil blockade ‘political blackmail’ by Ukraine president, says PM Orbán

“The Ukrainian oil blockade is political blackmail by President [Volodymyr] Zelensky aimed to help [Hungary’s] Tisza Party to power,” the prime minister said on Facebook on Tuesday.