Russia, Slovakia ink major oil supply deal

The agreement, signed by Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and Slovak Economic Minister Pavol Pavlis, also proposed an annual transit of another 6 million tons of crude oil via Slovakia to third countries, Russian Energy Ministry said in a statement. As a replacement of the previous oil contract that is due to expire on Dec. 31, the newly-signed deal will take effect on Jan. 1, 2015 and is scheduled to expire on Dec. 31, 2029. The oil will be delivered through the 8,900-km Druzhba pipeline, also known as the Friendship pipeline, while the contracted oil price was not revealed, Xinhua reported. Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the South Stream gas pipeline, which was built to deliver Russian natural gas to Europe via the Black Sea to bypass Ukraine, had been dropped due to opposition from the European Union.