Transneft to resume pumping oil through southern branch of Druzhba

Oil flow through the southern branch of the Druzhba pipeline through Ukraine will resume soon after it halted on Aug. 4, Russia’s pipeline monopoly Transneft announced on Wednesday.

Transneft plans to resume pumping oil at 16.00 Moscow time (1300 GMT), the spokesman for the president of Transneft Igor Demin told Russian state-owned media outlet RIA Novosti.

The southern branch of the pipeline transports Russian oil to refineries in Hungary, Slovakia and Czechia.

It also passes through Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Latvia and Lithuania. Ukrtransnafta owns the Ukrainian section, the transit of which is paid by Russia.

‘The work to start oil flow is ongoing right now. The Belarusian side also confirmed the possibility of starting work. We plan to start pumping through the section of the Druzhba oil pipeline at 16:00,’ Demin said, adding that Slovakia would receive oil first and then Hungary later in the day.

Ukraine’s main oil pipeline system operator, Ukrtransnafta, suspended oil transportation through the Ukrainian pipeline network on Aug. 4, after Transneft failed to make payment to Ukrtransnafta.

• Germany
• southern branch
• Ukraine