Hungarys MOL Signals Shift: Most Russian Oil Supplies Can Be Replaced Amid Druzhba Pipeline Concerns

Hungary’s largest oil and gas firm, MOL, announced on Friday that it could procure the majority of its crude oil from sources outside of Russia in the event of disruptions to the Druzhba pipeline. This marks a notable change from the earlier position which deemed Russian supplies indispensable.

According to MOL’s third-quarter earnings report, «If there is a significant reduction in crude deliveries through the Druzhba pipeline, we can ramp up our use of the Adriatic pipeline to supply approximately 80% of the intake for our landlocked refineries.»

The Adriatic pipeline allows Hungary to bring in crude oil via maritime routes, subsequently transporting it via pipeline to refineries located throughout Central and Eastern Europe.

Bloomberg characterized this announcement as a «turnaround» from previous statements made by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and MOL, which indicated that Hungary’s refineries were completely reliant on Russian crude oil.

However, MOL’s earnings report cautioned that this shift would involve «increased technical risks and higher logistics costs.»

This announcement occurred shortly before Orbán’s meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, where they were expected to address Hungary’s dependence on Russian energy and potential exemptions from U.S. sanctions. Zsolt Henádi, the executive chairman of MOL, was part of Orbán’s delegation.

Despite Poland’s opposition to the European Union’s plan to eliminate Russian oil imports by 2027, Hungary still imports around 90% of its crude from Russia.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the EU provided Hungary and Slovakia with temporary exemptions, and MOL has been able to benefit from discounted Russian oil prices.

MOL has committed to investing up to $700 million for enhancing its facilities to accommodate non-Russian crude processing, although the completion of these upgrades has been postponed until 2026, according to Reuters’ reports from last year.