Media: US grants MOL permission to continue buying Lukoil oil

The US Department of the Treasury has granted Hungarian oil and gas company MOL a special licence to continue purchasing crude from Russia’s Lukoil until November 21, 2026, Bloomberg reports, citing documents from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

The licence allows MOL to carry out transactions with Lukoil and its trading arm, Litasco, for oil delivered via the Druzhba pipeline.

However, the operations must not involve American companies, individuals, the US financial system, or benefit other sanctioned entities.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has indicated he hopes the US will extend the exemption beyond 2026.

Meanwhile, Energy Minister Csaba Lantos told Bloomberg that Budapest intends to block an EU initiative to phase out Russian energy imports by 2028.

At the same time, Hungary is preparing to shift to alternative energy sources as a precaution in case Brussels succeeds in implementing the ban, Lantos added.

By Aghakazim Guliyev