Sakova: Pressurisation and Refilling of Druzhba Began on Wednesday Morning (2)

Bratislava, 22 April (TASR) - According to information from Ukrtransnafta, the pressurisation and refilling of the Druzhba pipeline on the Ukrainian side from Belarus began on Wednesday morning, Economy Minister Denisa Sakova (Voice-SD) has posted on social media. Pumping and supplies to Slovakia are expected to be resumed on Thursday (23 April) morning. The Economy Ministry said that state-run joint-stock company Transpetrol has received information from its Ukrainian partner about the resumption of oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline. The Ukrainian side has provided a schedule for pumping oil for April. "The resumption of oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline is an important step towards stabilising the challenging situation on the oil market, also affected by developments in the Middle East. We firmly believe that oil supplies will actually be resumed and that the functionality of the Druzhba pipeline will no longer be the subject of any speculation," said Sakova. Reuters reported on Tuesday (21 April) that Hungarian oil company MOL has already submitted its first transit application. "MOL has already submitted applications for the first amounts, which will go to Hungary and Slovakia in equal proportions," a source told Reuters. The Hungarian petrochemical MOL Group, which also includes the Bratislava-based Slovnaft refinery, announced on its website on Wednesday that repair work on the Ukrainian section of the Druzhba pipeline had been completed. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy linked the repair of Druzhba to the unblocking of a €90-billion loan from the EU and progress in accession talks. EU-member states will attempt to definitively approve the release of the loan on Wednesday. NOTE: This story has been extended to include the third and fourth paragraphs. ko/df