Slovakia and Hungary say Ukraine suspended transit of Lukoil oil

Khrystyna Bondarieva , Tetyana Oliynyk — Thursday, 18 July 2024, 19:46

Slovakia and Hungary have said that they had stopped receiving oil from the Russian Lukoil corporation after Ukraine strengthened sanctions against the corporation.

Source: European Pravda

Details: Both Slovakia and Hungary say that they are still receiving oil from other Russian suppliers, but not from Lukoil.

Transpetrol, a Slovak oil transport operator, said on Thursday, 18 July, that it has stopped receiving Lukoil oil while oil from other Russian exporters is still being supplied.

The Slovak Ministry of the Economy said that this will affect the Slovnaft oil refinery in Bratislava.

"According to information that we’ve received from Transpetrol, supplies of Russian oil to Slovakia haven't been halted. Information from Slovnaft indicates that the problem only concerns deliveries from a particular supplier, Russian company Lukoil, which has been included on the sanctions list by Ukraine," Slovak Economy Ministry spokesperson Maria Pavlusik said, as cited in TASR.

A long-term shortfall in supplies might negatively affect the Bratislava-based Slovnaft refinery. Despite a gradual transition to alternative suppliers, two-thirds of the oil that it processes still comes from Russia.

According to the Slovak Economy Ministry, although Lukoil provided part of Slovnaft’s supplies, the refinery has secured supplies of Russian oil from an alternative supplier and from sources not in Russia. "Despite this, the ministry has noted the problem and is actively addressing it along with its Ukrainian partners," Pavlusik added.

Meanwhile, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on 18 July that raw oil from Lukoil is no longer being supplied to Hungary via Ukraine.

"The difficult legal situation in Ukraine means that Lukoil is currently not supplying [oil] to Hungary. We are working on a legal solution," Szijjártó told journalists after a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Background:

Ukraine imposed limited sanctions on Russia’s Lukoil in 2018, but those sanctions covered only the withdrawal of Ukrainian capital, restrictions on trade, and a ban on participation in the privatisation or lease of state property in Ukraine.
In June 2024, Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council expanded the sanctions against Lukoil, adding, among other things, a ban on transit of its oil via Ukraine.

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