Hungary and Slovakia strike a new fuel pipeline deal to steady regional supplies

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary and Slovakia have agreed to build a pipeline that will transport oil products like gasoline and diesel in what Slovakia’s Energy Ministry on Tuesday called a step toward improving the stability of fuel supplies in the region.

The pipeline, which will link Hungary’s refinery in Százhalombatta with Slovakia’s refinery in the capital Bratislava, will be 127 kilometers (79 miles) long and be capable of transporting 1.5 million tons of gas and diesel per year, the ministry said.

Work on linking the two refineries, both of which are owned by Hungary’s Mol Group, should be completed by the first half of 2027, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Monday from Brussels, where the agreement was signed.

Szijjártó said the fuel link would “add further value from the perspective of Hungary’s energy supply and diesel supply, while helping to counter the effects of wars around the world.”

The agreement comes as Hungary and Slovakia, the only two countries in the European Union that continue to import Russian oil, have been locked in a bitter feud with Ukraine over their access to pipeline supplies that cross Ukrainian territory.

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Russian oil shipments through the Druzhba pipeline have been interrupted since late January. Ukraine says a Russian drone strike damaged the pipeline’s infrastructure, and that repairing it carried risks to technicians.

Even if restored, Ukrainian officials say, the pipeline would remain vulnerable to further Russian attacks.

Hungary and Slovakia’s governments have accused Ukraine of deliberately holding up supplies of Russian crude, and vowed to take strong countermeasures against Kyiv until oil flows resume. Hungary’s government has already blocked a 90-billion euro ($104 billion) EU loan to Ukraine in response to the interruptions.

In its statement, Slovakia’s Energy Ministry said the supply disruptions had “highlighted the vulnerability of energy infrastructure and the need to diversify supply routes and sources.”

“The new pipeline should therefore improve supply flexibility and enable more efficient fuel transfers between refineries in both countries,” it said.

Associated Press writer Karel Janicek in Prague contributed to this report.