EU may clinch summit deal to sanction Russian oil shipments, says official

European Union countries are negotiating a deal on Russian oil sanctions that would embargo shipment deliveries but delay sanctions on oil delivered by pipeline to win over Hungary and other landlocked member states, officials said on Friday.

"The idea is to split the oil embargo into pipeline and seaborne deliveries," said one official. "Pipeline would get an exemption for some time to organise a replacement." Another official said that an agreement could be reached by EU member states' ambassadors in Brussels on Sunday, on time for their leaders to agree at a May 30-31 summit.

Hungary's resistance to oil sanctions - and the reluctance of a handful of other countries - has held up implementation of a sixth package of sanctions by the 27-member EU against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

(Reporting by Kate Abnett and Jan Strupczewski; Writing by John Chalmers)