Czechs draw on reserve of Russian oil in Slovakia

...of its needs after a halt in supplies from Russia, officials said.

Oil flow through the Druzhba pipeline to Slovakia from Russia was halted, as expected, on Monday evening after Russia stopped supplies to Belarus, accusing its neighbour of stealing from the pipeline amid a dispute over energy pricing.

The Druzhba pipeline system forks in Belarus, taking oil to Poland and Germany through its northern branch and to Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary through its southern spur via Ukraine.

"There is still oil flowing from Slovakia into the Czech Republic through the Druzhba pipeline, using oil stored in tanks in Slovakia," the Czech Industry and Trade Ministry said in a statement.

Government officials said the Czech Republic had more oil in strategic oil stocks, to cover about 100 days of its consumption. Local refineries had additional reserves.

The Czechs use mostly Russian oil but also pump oil from the IKL pipeline from Ingolstadt in Germany, which connects to the Italian port of Trieste.

The main Czech processor is Ceska rafinerska, majority-owned by Unipetrol . Shell , ConocoPhillips and ENI hold minority stakes.

[PRAGUE/Reuters/Finance.cz]