Slovakia, Hungary say Ukraine has halted Lukoil's Russian oil transit
Ukraine introduced sanctions against Lukoil in June
Slovakia, Hungary still receive Russian oil from other sources
Adds Slovakian oil transporter Transpetrol comment in paragraph 5, more detail on oil supplies to Slovakia and Hungary, Czech Republic in paragraphs 15-16
By Jason Hovet and Anita Komuves
PRAGUE/BUDAPEST, July 18 (Reuters) -Slovakia and Hungary said they have stopped receiving oil from key supplier Lukoil LKOH.MM after Ukraine imposed a ban last month on the transit of resources from the Russian energy company via its territory.
The move highlights the volatile nature of the remaining Russian oil supplies to Europe via the Soviet-built Druzhba pipeline, the last major functioning Russian oil supply route to the continent.
Both Slovakia and Hungary said they were still receiving oil from other Russian companies despite the halt of Lukoil supplies.
Lukoil declined to comment.
Slovakian oil transporter Transpetrol said on Thursday that deliveries from Lukoil had stopped but supplies from other Russian exporters were arriving in Slovakia via Ukraine.
Ukraine's state-run energy company Naftogaz was not immediately available for comment.
Slovakia's economy ministry said on Thursday that oil deliveries from Lukoil, Russia's second-largest oil producer, have stopped flowing to Slovakia via Ukraine following the company's inclusion on a Ukrainian sanctions list.
"According to data from (Slovak oil transporter) Transpetrol, deliveries of Russian oil to Slovakia were not stopped. The problem is, according to (Slovak refiner) Slovnaft, deliveries of a concrete supplier, Lukoil," the ministry said.
It said Slovnaft had secured deliveries from another supplier, and the ministry was discussing the issue with Ukrainian partners.
Russia continues to supply natural gas to Europe via Ukraine, despite Moscow's invasion in February 2022 and the ensuing military conflict, the largest on the continent since the World War Two.
Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Tuesday gas shipments from Russia to Hungary were flowing unobstructed through the TurkStream pipeline on the Black Sea, but crude oil was no longer transferred by Lukoil through Ukraine.
"Due to a new legal situation in Ukraine, Lukoil is no longer delivering to Hungary, and now we are working on a solution that would allow oil transit to restart as Russian oil is very important for our energy security," Szijjarto said.
Industry sources said some 1.1 million metric tons per month, or some 250,000 barrels per day, of Russian oil have been exported via Druzhba's southern spur, of which around 900,000 tons are almost equally split between Slovakia and Hungary.
The southern branch of the Druzhba pipeline runs via Ukraine to the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, and has been the primary source of supply for their refineries for years. Rosneft ROSN.MM, Lukoil and Tatneft TATN.MM have been the main Russian exporters via the route.
Two sources, familiar with the data, told Reuters that Russia's Urals crude supplies via the Druzhba pipeline to Slovakia have been sharply lower than their scheduled volumes.
They also said that oil supplies via the pipeline to Czech Republic continue as normal, while flows to Hungary are slightly below the planned levels.
Hungary's energy company MOL MOLB.BU owns refineries in landlocked Hungary and Slovakia, both of which are fed by the Druzhba pipeline's southern spur. Major investment is needed to diversify MOL's Danube and Slovnaft refineries away from Urals oil.
Lukoil has a term contract with MOL, under which it supplies some 4 million tons of oil per year to Hungary and Slovakia, according to industry sources.
Lack of oil supply from Lukoil makes it difficult for MOL, and particularly its Slovnaft refinery to continue stable operations, one of the sources said.
MOL's Duna refinery in Hungary has more options to import crude oil, such as by sea from the Omisalj port in Croatia. Slovnaft has to rely almost solely on Russian oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline due to its landlocked position.
Szijjarto said on Tuesday that a legal solution that MOL is working on would allow Lukoil to transport crude oil to Hungary through Ukraine and Belarus.
Reporting by Jason Hovet in Prague and Anita Komuves in Budapest; additional reporting by Pavel Polityuk in Kyiv; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin in Moscow. Editing by Jane Merriman
면책조항: XM Group 회사는 체결 전용 서비스와 온라인 거래 플랫폼에 대한 접근을 제공하여, 개인이 웹사이트에서 또는 웹사이트를 통해 이용 가능한 콘텐츠를 보거나 사용할 수 있도록 허용합니다. 이에 대해 변경하거나 확장할 의도는 없습니다. 이러한 접근 및 사용에는 다음 사항이 항상 적용됩니다: (i) 이용 약관, (ii) 위험 경고, (iii) 완전 면책조항. 따라서, 이러한 콘텐츠는 일반적인 정보에 불과합니다. 특히, 온라인 거래 플랫폼의 콘텐츠는 금융 시장에서의 거래에 대한 권유나 제안이 아닙니다. 금융 시장에서의 거래는 자본에 상당한 위험을 수반합니다.
온라인 거래 플랫폼에 공개된 모든 자료는 교육/정보 목적으로만 제공되며, 금융, 투자세 또는 거래 조언 및 권고, 거래 가격 기록, 금융 상품 또는 원치 않는 금융 프로모션의 거래 제안 또는 권유를 포함하지 않으며, 포함해서도 안됩니다.
이 웹사이트에 포함된 모든 의견, 뉴스, 리서치, 분석, 가격, 기타 정보 또는 제3자 사이트에 대한 링크와 같이 XM이 준비하는 콘텐츠 뿐만 아니라, 제3자 콘텐츠는 일반 시장 논평으로서 "현재" 기준으로 제공되며, 투자 조언으로 여겨지지 않습니다. 모든 콘텐츠가 투자 리서치로 해석되는 경우, 투자 리서치의 독립성을 촉진하기 위해 고안된 법적 요건에 따라 콘텐츠가 의도되지 않았으며, 준비되지 않았다는 점을 인지하고 동의해야 합니다. 따라서, 관련 법률 및 규정에 따른 마케팅 커뮤니케이션이라고 간주됩니다. 여기에서 접근할 수 있는 앞서 언급한 정보에 대한 비독립 투자 리서치 및 위험 경고 알림을 읽고, 이해하시기 바랍니다.
