Síkela holds talks with Iraqi counterpart on oil imports and support for Czech companies in Iraq

Oil imports and support for Czech companies and their export projects were the main topics of talks in Prague today between Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Síkela (STAN) and his Iraqi counterpart, Khalid Battal al-Najm. According to Síkela, Iraqi oil could play an important role in replacing fuel from Russia. The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MPO) said so in a press release. Trade between the Czech Republic and Iraq rose by 54 percent last year to 5.8 billion crowns.

“Deepening cooperation with Iraq, an important economic partner for us in the Middle East, could significantly help us reduce our dependence on Russian oil. This year, we plan to complete the TAL+ project, which will require adjusting the oil blend processed at the Litvínov refinery so that it can replace Russian oil. Iraq could play an important role in this,” Síkela said after today’s meeting.

In addition to oil, the ministers also discussed further cooperation in the petrochemical industry. Czech companies Chemoprojekt and Unis built 60 percent of the petrochemical capacity in Basra in the past. Síkela confirmed to the Iraqi minister today that the Czech companies were interested in further involvement in building refineries in Iraq.

According to the MPO, the Czech minister also lobbied for further involvement by Czech companies in Iraq, for example in military equipment, L-159 aircraft, geological surveys and hospital equipment.

“We also want to focus on cooperation in the energy and water management sectors, where Czech companies have extensive experience. In energy, this could include projects to build smaller solar power plants with a capacity of around one megawatt, such as those being built in neighbouring Jordan by Czech company Solarity. This could also include systems for thermal power plants and distribution networks that would help improve the efficiency of Iraq’s energy system,” Síkela added.

The Czech Republic currently imports most of its oil from Russia. Statistics for the first half of last year show that around 65 percent of oil imports were transported via the Russian Druzhba oil pipeline. State-owned company Mero is therefore currently preparing to expand the TAL pipeline, which runs from the Italian port of Trieste, where oil arrives from a range of countries and continents. The largest share comes from areas around the Caspian and Black seas, the United States and Africa. The project, costing approximately 1.6 billion crowns, is expected to increase capacity for the Czech Republic by four million tonnes of oil a year from 2025, allowing up to eight million tonnes a year to be delivered to the country by pipeline. This should make the Czech Republic independent of Russian oil.