Hungary, Serbia to expedite construction of joint oil pipeline amid hefty US sanction

A feasibility study for the construction of an oil pipeline between Hungary and Serbia has been completed.

This was announced by Hungary's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó, on January 19, Caliber.Az reports.

The pipeline will connect the oil pipeline systems of Hungary and Serbia. According to the minister, the investment will take approximately three years to complete and will allow Serbia to diversify its oil supplies and reduce its dependence on Croatia.

"During today's phone conversation with Serbia's Minister of Energy, Dubravka Đedović, we agreed to accelerate our joint investments in energy and energy security," the politician stated.

As Caliber.Az recalls, the US has imposed major sanctions against the Serbian petroleum industry Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS) in January 2025, which enjoys majority ownership by Russian gas companies Gazprom Neft and Gazprom. The new wave of sanctions that were introduced by the outgoing US administration are mainly targeting Russian oil companies, as well as over 100 oil tankers that are now partially stranded in the oceans with their cargo. 

The construction of the pipeline between Hungary and Serbia is expected to be completed by 2026. The new branch will be docked to the Druzhba oil pipeline, one of the world's longest pipelines stretching over 4,000 kilometres starting from Russia with end-points in Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Germany.  

By Nazrin Sadigova