Failure reported

Oil is no longer flowing through the Druzhba pipeline

The Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline in Russia

(Bild: APA/AFP/ATTILA KISBENEDEK)

Russian crude oil is currently no longer flowing through the southern section of the Druzhba pipeline in the Czech Republic. Industry Minister Lukas Vlcek did not provide any information on the possible reasons for this. He said that his country's refineries are well prepared for such a situation.

He suggested that the government provide crude oil on loan from the state reserves for the Unpetrol refinery. "There is no danger that there will not be enough oil to meet the needs of households and companies." A few days ago, the Slovakian government spoke of indications that an international group was planning attacks on critical infrastructure. It was initially unclear whether there was a connection.

Austria not directly affected
The Druzhba pipeline splits into two strands in Belarus, one to the south and one to the north. The southern pipeline continues via Ukraine and Slovakia to the Czech Republic. There is no connection to Austria. According to Transneft, operations are running normally on Russian territory.

Here you can see the Minister of Industry's tweet about the incident.

The Druzhba pipeline provided around 58 percent of Czech oil consumption last year. The Czech Republic is currently investing in the expansion of the Transalpine Oil Pipeline (TAL), which runs from the port of Trieste in Italy to Central Europe and also supplies Austria's only refinery in Schwechat.

This expansion was the right decision, Minister Vlcek announced. As early as next year, enough crude oil could be supplied to cover the country's entire consumption. The governments of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary had obtained temporary exemptions from the EU sanctions banning the import of Russian crude oil.