Russian oil transit through Ukraine falls to 10-year low

Ukraine transported approximately 11.36 million tons of Russian oil via the southern branch of the Druzhba pipeline in 2024, marking a 16% decrease compared to the previous year, according to a report by ExPro Crude Oil & Condensate Weekly.

The annual transit volume is the lowest since 2014. The largest amount of Russian oil was delivered to Hungary, totaling over 4.7 million tons, which is roughly equivalent to the supply volumes in 2023. Slovakia received 3.9 million tons of oil, a 15% decrease, while the Czech Republic received 2.7 million tons.

According to ExPro estimates, Ukraine earned approximately 10 billion hryvnias ($250 million) from the transit of Russian oil in 2024, compared to 4 billion hryvnias (over $255 million) in 2023.

The agreement for transporting Russian oil was signed in 2019 and is valid until the end of 2029. Due to Ukraine's sanctions against Lukoil in 2024, the Hungarian company MOL Nyrt became the new customer for transportation services. It purchases Russian oil at the Belarusian-Ukrainian border.

Oil transit from Russia continues into 2025, although a bill to ban the transit of Russian oil has already been registered in the Ukrainian parliament. The average daily transit volume in the first week of January was approximately 34,900 tons, a 14% increase compared to December.

At the beginning of January 2025, Russian oil exports fell to their lowest level in 16 months.

On January 10, the United States imposed a new package of sanctions against Russia's oil and gas sector, joined by the United Kingdom. The new sanctions led to an increase in oil prices to $80 per barrel.