Ukraine to stop Brody-Odessa oil flow to Russia

Ukraine aims next year to end an arrangement under which its Odessa-Brody pipeline, designed to bring Caspian oil to Europe, has instead been pumping Russian oil to the Mediterranean, its pipeline company said.
Mikhail Gonchar, deputy head of state pipeline monopoly Ukrtransnafta, said the current reverse flow was unsatisfactory, as Ukraine expected no growth in Russian oil transit volumes.

Odessa-Brody, which runs from the Black Sea port of Odessa to the Polish border, was one of Ukraine's most ambitious projects but was plagued by political bickering and lack of money. The route, which is meant in future to carry Kazakh oil, stood idle for some years.
Ukraine signed a contract in 2004 on reversing the pipeline's flow for three years. Kiev had hoped to pump 9 mm tons of Russian oil a year, but actual volumes have been lower.