Hungary’s only oil refining company, Mol Nyrt., stated that it has the capacity to source oil from suppliers other than Russia ahead of a key meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on sanctions targeting Russian oil.
According to Ukrinform, Bloomberg reported this.
The company, which operates refineries in Hungary and Slovakia, noted that the pipeline from Croatia could effectively serve as an alternative for most of its oil supplies if Russian deliveries through the Druzhba pipeline via Ukraine were to be halted.
“Should the crude flows via the Druzhba pipeline drop significantly, Mol can increase its utilization of the Adriatic pipeline and supply ca. 80% of its landlocked refineries’ intake, although entailing higher technical risks and logistics costs,” the company stated in its financial report released on Friday.
The outlet notes that this statement marks a shift from months of assertions by Orbán and Mol that the country had no viable alternative to Russian oil. Until now, both the Orbán administration and Mol have consistently downplayed the potential role of the Adriatic pipeline, arguing that Hungary’s landlocked position leaves Russia as its only effective oil supply source. A dispute over the Croatian pipeline’s capacity remains ongoing.
Hungary increased imports of Russian oil following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, to the point that around 90% of its oil imports now come from Russia.
The country secured a temporary exemption from European Union sanctions and has benefited from lower prices on Russian fuel, which has helped Mol boost refining margins and contributed to higher profits in the third quarter.
As the EU plans to completely phase out Russian energy imports by 2027, Mol will eventually have to end its reliance on Russian crude. The key question is how much time the company will have to do so in light of potential U.S. sanctions. Mol stated that it is proceeding cautiously with the modernization of its refineries in Hungary and Slovakia to increase their capacity for processing non-Russian crude.
As reported by Ukrinform, U.S. President Donald Trump will host Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at the White House on November 7. Mol Chairman of the Board of Directors Zsolt Hernádi is among those accompanying Orbán to Washington as part of the business delegation. One of the issues to be discussed is U.S. sanctions on Russian oil. The inability to secure a delay in these sanctions would mean hard times for Hungarians, Orbán told state media on Thursday while en route to Washington.
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