Hungary postpones refusal from Russian oil: why the deadline was missed

Hungarian oil group MOL expects its refineries to be able to process Russian crude oil by the end of 2026. This is despite the fact that the previous deadline was 2025. Thus, MOL decided to pump oil from Russia for another year.

This is reported by Reuters. It is noted that 2 MOL refineries in Slovakia and Hungary receive Russian oil via the southern branch of the "Druzhba" pipeline.

"The company is investing in the technologies needed to switch away from Russian Urals oil. But progress is slower than expected. ... MOL expects its refineries to be able to process both Russian and non-Russian oil by the end of 2026. ... Currently, MOL can process up to 30-40% of non-Russian oil at its refineries," the statement said.

The reason for the postponement, the company said, was unforeseen difficulties in the implementation of 24 planned refinery modernization projects. The company also cited the need for additional logistics investments in storage and blending facilities.

At the same time, the company said that MOL is currently negotiating with Croatian operator Janaf to sign a long-term contract for oil transportation via the Adriatic pipeline. However, they admitted that the Druzhba pipeline is of key importance to the company.

"Our goal is to buy different types of oil. Both Russian and non-Russian," they said.

As a reminder, the Russian company "Lukoil" has stopped transporting oil to Hungary through the "Druzhba" pipeline since the end of June 2024. This happened after the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine expanded sanctions against "Lukoil."

Hungary used to receive 70% of its oil imports from Russia. And half of it was from "Lukoil."

As reported by OBOZ.UA, at the same time, Saudi Arabia is growing dissatisfied with the violation of oil production quotas by other countries (including Russia). Against this backdrop, Riyadh plans to dramatically increase its black gold production, which could deprive the Kremlin of funds to finance the war in Ukraine.

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