The European Union imposed an embargo on the import of Russian oil: Will it also affect Slovakia? Hirman reacts!
The European Union’s embargo on Russian oil will not affect Slovakia in any way, as it only applies to supplies by oil tankers. As long as there is no major infrastructure damage, the supply of Russian oil to Slovakia should not be at risk. Economy Minister Karel Hirman said this at a press conference on Monday (December 5).
“If anything threatens us, it is Russia’s attacks on the territory of Ukraine“said Hirman. According to the minister, the Druzhba oil pipeline may not even be damaged.”The problem is that the pumps on the pipeline have enough electricity to drive them“Supplied electricity rights of Ukraine were responsible for several interruptions of oil supply in the last two.
Hirman did not dare to estimate what the price development will be in the near future. On the one hand, according to the minister, the decision of the OPEC+ alliance to maintain the current amount of production is good news, but on the other hand, the price may increase due to the increasing demand in China after the relaxation of anti-pandemic measures.
Hirman reminded that since 2015, Slovakia already has an alternative route for transporting oil to the Slovnaft refinery through Croatia and Hungary. However, changing the supplier and switching to a different type of oil will require time and modification of the processing technology.