Druzhba pipeline
It carries oil some 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi) from the eastern part of European Russia to points in Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Germany.
[1][obsolete source] The network also branches out into numerous smaller pipelines to deliver its product throughout Eastern Europe and beyond.
The name "Druzhba" means "friendship", alluding to the fact that the pipeline established friendly relations between the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe through the reliable supply of oil.
On 18 December 1958, the 10th session of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon), held in Prague, adopted a decision and an agreement was signed on construction of a trunk crude oil pipeline from the USSR into Poland, Czechoslovakia, GDR and Hungary.
[6][7] From December 2023, following agreements, Germany began importing 1.2 million tons of oil per year from Kazakhstan using the northern pipeline.
The line through Slovakia is divided once again near Bratislava: one branch leading in a northwest direction to the Czech Republic and the other going southward to Hungary.
The Druzhba-1 pipeline branches off toward Hungary in Banská Bystrica Region (Slovakia) near the river of Ipeľ, crosses the Hungarian border at Drégelypalánk and leads to Százhalombatta (not depicted on the map at the beginning of the page).
The operator in Belarus is Gomeltransneft Druzhba, in Ukraine UkrTransNafta, in Poland PERN Przyjazn SA, in Slovakia Transpetrol AS, in the Czech Republic Mero, and in Hungary MOL.
[19] The proposal was touted by the Croatian president Stipe Mesić, but it also garnered a lot of negative press due to complaints from the environmentalist groups such as Eko Kvarner, and was eventually abandoned.
The alleged rise in the tariff will be from $7.8 to $9.50 (or €6.6) per tonne of oil for transiting Ukraine in 2010, and this was implemented due to the decision from Russia to raise prices of the energy resources.
[21][needs update] The delivery of oil was halted on 20 April 2019 due to high concentrations of organic chloride found in the pipeline.
These chemical compounds contaminated the pipeline and equipment in Russia and Europe causing an economic impact of billions of dollars.
Investigation into the scandal is ongoing with individuals being detained in Russia suspected of having stolen oil and pouring in organochloride to the pipeline to cover up the theft.
[30] Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Moscow hinted at an energy supply deal in exchange for Belarus merging with Russia, which caused talks to collapse.
[31][32][needs update] In 2023, apparent classified U.S. intelligence documents released in the 2022–2023 Pentagon document leaks included a note of a conversation between the President of Ukraine and Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko in which Volodymyr Zelensky suggested blowing up the Druzhba pipeline to hit Hungarian industry, as Orbán's government was too friendly towards the Kremlin during the Russo-Ukrainian War.
[33] A Hungarian government official stated that this proposed sabotage by Zelensky prompted Hungary to block funding of the European Peace Facility.
