Slovakia considers rebuilding Druzhba pipeline to supply fuel to Ukraine

The Druzhba pipeline, through which Russian oil flows into the country, may be converted into a product pipeline to deliver fuel into Ukraine, Slovak Economy Minister Richard Sulík announced.

“In Ukraine, most of the refineries are destroyed. Ukraine needs fuels. The main pipe in Druzhba is used to import crude oil. The second pipe can be adapted for the transport of the finished products – diesel or gasoline for a relatively reasonable investment,” Sulík explained.

The minister added that a feasibility study would be pre-prepared by the Slovak oil pipeline operator Transpetrol. Besides aid to Ukraine, there is a commercial logic behind the plan. It is unclear how long the repurposing of Druzhba will take or how much it will cost.