The supply of Russian oil to the Lukoil company through the Druzhba oil pipeline to Hungary was resumed after the conclusion of amended contracts that changed the transit conditions. Now raw materials are received at the border between Belarus and Ukraine, which has become a key change in supply. This was stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, Péter Szijártó.
According to him, the renewed contract increases the financial burden for Hungary, creating new risks for the country. However, as Szijjártó emphasized, due to the inaction of the European Commission regarding the provision of alternative energy sources, Hungary was forced to agree to such conditions.
“The supply of oil has been restored. We have changed the contract, which means that we now take oil on the border of Belarus and Ukraine. This places a great financial burden on us, which creates great risks, but due to the inaction of the European Commission, we had to do it.”, – Sijarto noted.
According to official data, since the beginning of 2024, Hungary has received 3.4 million tons of Russian oil through Druzhba. It is expected that this volume will reach 5 million tons by the end of the year, which indicates the continuation of the country’s energy dependence on Russian resources.
Interestingly, in September 2024, the Hungarian energy company Mol Nyrt. reached a new agreement that guaranteed the continued supply of Russian crude oil through the territory of Ukraine, despite previous sanctions. We will remind that the supply of oil from Russia to Hungary was stopped on July 18, 2024 due to the strengthening of sanctions by Ukraine. In June of this year, Ukraine introduced restrictions that effectively blocked the use of its territory for the transit of Lukoil oil.
