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Reuters
05-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Payment issues behind Russian halt of oil supply on Druzhba pipeline, Czech minister says
PRAGUE, March 5 (Reuters) - A halt in oil supplies by Russia to the Czech Republic on Tuesday via the Druzhba pipeline is due to payment issues between Czech refineries' Polish owner and Russian suppliers, the Czech industry minister was cited as saying. The Czech Republic has planned to end its long-held oil ties Russia around the middle of this year, and it was initially unclear why flows were halted on Tuesday. Russia's oil pipeline operator Transneft did not respond to a request for comment. Russia had earlier briefly stopped supplies via the pipeline in December in a dispute over payments. The disruption this week forced refiner Unipetrol, owned by Poland's Orlen ( opens new tab, to ask to tap state reserves. Refinery operations have remained at full capacity, and Industry Minister Lukas Vlcek said on Tuesday in a statement that there was no risk of shortages. Payment issues caused the halt in supplies, he told Czech Television late on Tuesday. "I have information that there are some payments between Orlen and Russian suppliers not going through," he said. Orlen did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. The company said on Tuesday it operated in accordance with sanctions laws and regulations, but did not comment on why oil supplies were halted. Vlcek has said the country could switch to the TAL pipeline, which has been upgraded, in the event of a long-term stoppage to flows via Druzhba. The Czech Republic imports Russian crude through Druzhba and other crudes via the TAL pipeline, a key oil artery running from the Italian port of Trieste to Central Europe via Germany. Due to capacity upgrades, the Czechs are set to fully rely on TAL shipments from the second half of this year, ending the country's need to import Russian crude.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Russian oil deliveries to Czech Republic via Druzhba pipeline suspended, Czech official says
Russian oil deliveries to the Czech Republic via the Druzhba pipeline have been halted, Czech news channel CT24 reported on March 4, citing Industry and Trade Minister Lukas Vlcek. "We control the situation and are prepared for such circumstances. Refineries in the Czech Republic are well prepared, and the state material reserve system is reliable, so I can assure everyone that there are enough oil reserves for both households and businesses," Vlcek said. No mention was made of the cause for the halt in deliveries. The Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline transports Russian oil to Europe through two main branches: the southern route supplies Central Europe, and the northern route serves Northern Europe. This is not the first disruption to Druzhba's oil flow. In early December 2024, supplies were temporarily halted but resumed after two days. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala announced in January that Prague intends to completely stop Russian oil imports via Druzhba. The country plans to rely instead on the Transalpine Pipeline, which has been modernized to boost supply volumes. The European Union imposed an embargo on Russian oil and oil products in June 2023, though the southern branch of Druzhba was temporarily exempted. That exemption expires in June 2025, after which recipient countries must find alternative supply routes. Read also: Oil prices continue to decline amid growing tensions between US, Ukraine, Reuters reports We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
