Physical work on expanding the Italian TAL oil pipeline for Czechia to begin next spring

Physical work to expand the European TAL oil pipeline will begin next spring and is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The state-owned company Mero informed the Czech News Agency (ČTK), saying that preparations for the project are currently proceeding as planned. The project, worth approximately 1.6 billion crowns, is expected to increase capacity for Czechia by four million tonnes of oil a year from 2025, allowing up to eight million tonnes to be transported to the country annually. This should make the Czech Republic independent of Russian oil.

Oil flows through the TAL pipeline from Trieste in Italy to Ingolstadt in Bavaria, from where it continues to Czechia via the IKL pipeline. Czechia currently receives the rest of its oil through the Druzhba pipeline from Russia.

According to the state-owned company, the pipeline must be prepared for the new transport capacity. „The pipeline is set for extensive changes. The entire pumping system will undergo a major transformation, with 20 new pumps, 12 motors and two frequency converters to be installed. The flow meters will be completely replaced, the impellers at two pumping stations will be changed, and all safety systems will be upgraded,“ said Mero chairman Jaroslav Pantůček, outlining the main planned works.

According to Pantůček, the modernised pipeline should reach its maximum output and pumping capacity by the end of next year. But the work will not end there: plans for 2025 include, for example, modifications to the central oil storage terminal in Nelahozeves and the installation of backup pumps.   

After its expansion, the TAL pipeline is expected to become one of the most powerful in Europe, according to Mero. Technological upgrades to the pipeline will take place in Italy, Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic. TAL starts in Trieste, where oil is imported from a range of countries and continents. The largest share comes from areas around the Caspian and Black seas, the United States and Africa. Mero has owned a five-percent stake in the TAL pipeline since 2012. Mero will cover the cost of expanding the pipeline.

After the pipeline is expanded, the Czech Republic is expected to become independent of Russian oil supplies for the first time in almost 60 years. Statistics for the first half of this year show that oil imported via Russia’s Druzhba pipeline accounted for around 65 percent of supplies. The figure was around 56 percent last year and lower still in previous years. The share of Russian oil is therefore at its highest level since at least 2012.

The EU has banned imports of oil from Russia since last year. Czechia is exempt from the ban when using the Druzhba pipeline, and the EU recently extended the exemption until December next year.

Mero owns and operates the Czech section of the Druzhba pipeline and the IKL pipeline, and is the only oil transporter to the Czech Republic.