Czechs ready to start assistance to reverse Druzhba oil flows to Slovakia

The Czech Republic is prepared to invest in the Druzhba pipeline to allow flows of oil to Slovakia, Industry Minister Karel Havlicek said on Wednesday (March 18).

Slovakia, along with Hungary, has been cut off from Russian oil deliveries via Ukraine since late January as Kyiv repairs damage to the Druzhba pipeline it says was caused by a Russian strike.

Slovakia and Hungary have accused Ukraine of dragging its feet on repairs but Kyiv says it needs time.

The Czechs stopped using Russian supplies via Druzhba last year after expanding the TAL pipeline running from Italy to Germany before feeding into a connector. Prague has previously mentioned the possibility of reversing the flow of the Czech section of the Druzhba pipeline to Slovakia.

"We offered Slovakia the possibility of using the reverse flow of the Druzhba. In other words, we are ready to start investing in technical measures so that oil can be supplied from the Czech Republic to Slovakia," Havlicek said after meeting in Prague with Slovak Economy Minister Denisa Sakova.

Havlicek said the investment would be up to 1 billion Czech crowns ($47 million) initially.

Tens of thousands of tons of oil a month could flow that way to Slovakia in an emergency regime, the ministers said, while annual capacity could rise in the next two to three years to 2 million to 3 million tons.

Production: Anna Lubowicka/Reuters