EU proposes ban on seaborne oil from Russia to meet Hungary

The EU proposed banning seaborne oil from Russia while delaying restrictions on imports from key pipelines in order to satisfy Hungarian objections and clinch an agreement on a stalled sanctions package that would target Moscow for its war in Ukraine.

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The European Commission sent a revised proposal to national governments on Saturday that would spare oil through the giant Druzhba pipeline, which is Hungary's main source of crude imports, according to people familiar with the matter.

The people who asked not to be identified said that member states would stop their imports of seaborne crude in six months and refined petroleum products in eight months.

The proposal would give more time to Hungary, which opposed the deal, to find a technical solution that satisfies its energy needs. It would address the concerns of other landlocked countries, including Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

Under the revised draft, Bulgaria would get a transition period from June or December 2024 to June or December 2024, and Croatia could get an exemption for imports of vacuum gas oil. The commission has proposed limiting Russian oil exports by pipeline to other member states or third countries.

The commission appears to have limited the scope of a provision that would affect services related to the shipment of oil to third countries. After its adoption, the draft prohibits providing technical assistance, brokering services or financing or financial assistance in six months. The previous proposal included any other services that were understood as a reference to providing insurance for shipments.

EU ambassadors are expected to meet on Sunday when they can talk about the revised package. Some member states are pushing to reach an agreement before the EU leaders meet in Brussels on Monday to discuss the war in Ukraine.

The sanctions package requires the backing of all member states. Several nations had previously opposed distinguishing between seaborne and pipeline deliveries because of concerns that such a split would disproportionately hit their supplies.

The EU had previously proposed phasing out all Russian oil imports by early next year. Hungary and Slovakia would have been given until the end of 2024 to comply, while the Czech Republic would have been granted an exemption until June 2024. The countries are heavily dependent on Russian oil, but they account for a relatively small portion of the EU's overall imports from Moscow.

Exempting pipe oil from the measures - which Hungary had previously asked as a condition to back the package, along with more time and infrastructure investments - will dent the impact of the sanctions. Russia shipped about 720,000 barrels of crude a day of crude to European refineries through its main pipeline to the region last year. Its seaborne volumes of 1.57 million barrels a day are from its Baltic, Black Sea and Arctic ports.

The bulk of the pipeline deliveries are to Germany and Poland, which have signaled that they will wean themselves off Russian supplies regardless of any EU action.

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