Russian Oil Flows Through Druzhba Pipeline Halted Again
It’s happened again. The Druzhba pipeline—Russia’s aging oil lifeline to Europe—has gone silent, leaving Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic without their usual crude oil fix.
According to sources, the culprit is a “technical issue” at a Russian pumping station in the Bryansk region. Transneft, the pipeline’s operator, has yet to speak on the issue, but Belarus has confirmed the disruption, saying its refineries are dipping into reserves to keep running.
This pipeline, capable of carrying 2 million barrels per day (bpd), has been trucking along with just 300,000 bpd lately, thanks to sanctions and Europe’s pivot from Russian energy. Still, for nations like Hungary and Slovakia—granted waivers by the EU due to their heavy dependency—this hiccup is a headache.
As for how long it will be stalled this time, opinions vary. Some sources think it’s a quick fix—just a couple of days. Others say we could be looking at the end of the month before things are back to normal. Meanwhile, alternative routes from Russian ports like Novorossiisk are still humming along, and there’s talk of diverting supply there if Druzhba’s downtime drags on.
This isn’t the first time Druzhba’s been in the spotlight. Earlier this month, flows to the Czech Republic were interrupted but quickly restored. Given the pipeline’s aging infrastructure and shrinking role in European energy, we may be seeing the start of its slow fade into irrelevance, particularly given that the Czech Republic would phase out all Russian oil imports by July 2025.
For now, Europe’s energy puzzle is growing increasingly more complicated, and Russia’s reliability as a supplier is taking yet another hit.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com