EU Projects Cost of Druzhba Independence

The EU expects to require Eur 1.5-2 billion to upgrade oil infrastructure in member countries most reliant on the Druzhba pipeline as efforts are increased to stop imports of Russian oil into Europe.

• The European Commission presented the figures as part of its REPowerEU plan to end the blocs dependence on Russian energy.
• "The stop of supply from the Druzhba pipeline will increase pressure on alternative supply routes, namely ports such as Gdansk, Rostock, Trieste or Omisalj, and alternative pipeline infrastructure, currently not prepared to handle such additional pressure, that serves the same regions," the commission said.
• "Very limited and targeted investments to ensure the security of oil is needed. Projects building on and expanding the capacity of the existing infrastructure and tackling existing bottlenecks, namely in the Transalpine (TAL), Adria or SPSE oil pipelines, are key to ensure viable alternatives to the most affected member states."
• Hungary and Slovakia are the most dependent EU nations on the Druzhba pipeline and are seeking extensions from the EU to continue importing Russian oil.