Fiala: Czechia will end its dependence on Russian oil by mid-next year at the latest

The Czech Republic will end its dependence on Russian oil by the middle of next year at the latest. Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) wants to request the lifting of the exemption allowing imports of Russian oil as soon as the expansion of the Italian TAL pipeline is completed. Work on the project is now in full swing. The technological upgrades will be completed by the end of this year, followed by finishing work and operational tests. After 60 years, the Czech Republic will no longer depend on Russian oil delivered via the Druzhba pipeline, Fiala said today after meeting with the management of state-owned company Mero at the Central Crude Oil Tank Farm in Nelahozeves. The Litvínov refinery is also preparing for the switch and is already technologically ready, Orlen Unipetrol said.

The expanded pipeline will bring an additional four million tonnes of oil a year to the Czech Republic. This will cover the needs of both refineries, in Litvínov and Kralupy nad Vltavou. „At the same time, the TAL pipeline will undergo a major upgrade, making it one of the safest and highest-capacity pipelines in Europe,“ Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura (ODS) added. According to Industry and Trade Minister Jozef Síkela (STAN), the project will significantly strengthen the Czech Republic’s energy security. „It will also allow us to gradually stop paying the Russian dictatorial regime for Russian oil, which is not only in our moral interest but also in our strategic interest,“ Síkela added.

The total cost of the full upgrades and capacity increase, which will be achieved by speeding up oil transport, is expected to be around CZK 1.3 billion to CZK 1.6 billion and will be covered by Mero. However, the company’s director, Jaroslav Pantůček, said discussions are under way about having refineries cover part of the cost as well.

Orlen Unipetrol, the operator of the country’s refineries, is also preparing to switch away from Russian oil. „The Litvínov refinery is already technologically ready to process new oil blends. We are now continuing to test various blends from around the world, particularly from Guyana, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the North Sea, and are waiting for state-owned Mero to complete the project to increase the TAL pipeline’s transport capacity. This will allow us to begin the process of switching to these new oil blends,“ company spokesperson Pavel Kaidl said.

He also noted that since last July the company has been increasing the volume of alternative oil blends it processes, primarily because more transport capacity has become available on the TAL pipeline. „Since the fourth quarter of 2023, we have imported and processed more non-Russian oil than Russian oil. In the first quarter of this year, we reduced imports of Russian oil by 22 percent year on year,“ Kaidl said.

Orlen Unipetrol’s other refinery, in Kralupy nad Vltavou, processes only non-Russian oil, mainly from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia and North America.

Last year, 7.4 million tonnes of oil flowed into Czech refineries, around 58 percent of it via the Druzhba pipeline from Russia. The rest was supplied via the German IKL pipeline, which connects to the Italian TAL pipeline. The first technical upgrades are being prepared for the coming days: the replacement of pumps in Gruben, Austria.

According to Mero’s director, the TAL pipeline has been in operation since 1967 and will now reach its maximum capacity for the first time—the level it was designed to handle. The investments will cover 14 locations along the pipeline and include, for example, the installation of 20 pumps, 12 electric motors and new flow meters, as well as a comprehensive system upgrade. A direct connection will also be built at the Central Crude Oil Tank Farm in Nelahozeves, linking the pipeline to the pipes leading to domestic refineries. This will eliminate the current intermediate stage, in which oil is pumped out of storage tanks. „We will save both energy and time,“ Pantůček added.