Hungary and Slovakia agreed to build a new fuel pipeline intended to improve the stability of regional supplies, linking Hungary’s refinery in Százhalombatta with Slovakia’s refinery in Bratislava, Slovakia’s Energy Ministry said. The governments said the move will help strengthen fuel transfers between the two countries.
The pipeline is set to run for 127 kilometers (79 miles) and is expected to have capacity to transport 1.5 million tons of gas and diesel each year, the ministry said. Both refineries are owned by Hungary’s Mol Group, according to the agreement described by Hungary’s foreign minister.
Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said the work to connect the refineries should be finished in the first half of 2027. Szijjártó said the agreement was signed in Brussels and described the project as adding value for Hungary’s energy and diesel supply while countering effects of wars around the world.
Slovakia’s ministry said the supply disruptions tied to the broader regional situation had highlighted the vulnerability of energy infrastructure. In its statement, the ministry said the new pipeline should therefore improve supply flexibility and enable more efficient fuel transfers between refineries in both countries.
The agreement is taking shape against a backdrop of deteriorating relations among Hungary, Slovakia and Ukraine over access to fuel routes that cross Ukrainian territory. Hungary and Slovakia are described by the report as the only two European Union countries that continue to import Russian oil.
Ukrainian officials have said Russian oil shipments through the Druzhba pipeline were interrupted after a Russian drone strike damaged the pipeline’s infrastructure and that repairing it carried risks to technicians. Even if the pipeline were restored, Ukraine’s officials said it would remain vulnerable to further Russian attacks.
Hungary and Slovakia have accused Ukraine of deliberately holding up supplies of Russian crude and have said they plan strong countermeasures until oil flows resume. The report says Hungary has already blocked a 90-billion euro ($104 billion) EU loan to Ukraine in response to the interruptions.
In the same statement, Slovakia’s Energy Ministry framed the new project as part of a broader need to diversify supply routes and sources, pointing to the earlier disruptions and the need for additional options for fuel movement across the region.