Ukraine Halts Transshipment of Lukoil Oil to Slovakia
Oil deliveries from the Lukoil company to Slovakia through Ukraine have been halted following the inclusion of the Russian company on Ukraine's sanctions list, according to the Slovak Ministry of Economy.
According to Reuters, the local oil refining company Slovnaft has arrangements with another oil supplier and is discussing the situation with Ukrainian partners.
“According to data from the Slovak importing company Transpetrol, supplies of Russian oil to Slovakia have not been interrupted. The issue, according to Slovnaft, is related specifically to the supplier, Lukoil,” the Slovak Ministry of Economy stated.
It was noted that Lukoil has an existing contract with the Hungarian MOL Group to supply approximately 4 million tons of oil annually to oil refineries in Hungary and Slovakia. Russia supplies about 500,000 tons of oil per month to the Slovak Slovnaft refinery, with more than 50% of this volume coming from Lukoil's resources.
Transpetrol representative Yulia Protsikova told TASS that oil from other Russian exporters, which are not yet included in Ukraine's expanded sanctions list, continues to arrive in Slovakia without interruptions and on schedule.
Last month, Ukraine tightened sanctions against Lukoil, effectively banning the transshipment of oil entering Central Europe via the Ukrainian section of the Druzhba pipeline. The company is the main supplier of crude to both Slovakia and Hungary.
According to estimates from Reuters, the transshipment limitation will result in Slovakia not receiving more than 50% of the oil that was scheduled for July.