Fiala: Czech Mero agrees with TAL consortium shareholders on oil pipeline expansion project

Czech company Mero has reached an agreement with the shareholders of the TAL consortium on a project to expand the Transalpine Pipeline (TAL). The project is expected to be completed in 2024, and the agreement is expected to be signed in May. Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) announced this at a press conference after today’s meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

According to Fiala’s previous statement, upgrading the pipeline will enable oil deliveries to increase to seven to eight million tonnes a year. The cost of the technical upgrades needed to achieve this was estimated at CZK 1.2 billion to CZK 1.6 billion. The project is part of efforts to make the Czech Republic independent of the Russian Druzhba pipeline. „(The project) is absolutely crucial for the energy security of the Czech Republic, with the aim of ending its dependence on Russian fossil fuels,“ Fiala noted.

The TAL pipeline runs from Trieste in Italy to Germany and Austria. The Czech Republic is connected to it via the IKL pipeline, which starts in Vohburg an der Donau in Bavaria, where it connects to the Transalpine Pipeline. The pipeline is supplied with oil brought by tankers from around the world to the port of Trieste.