Work to expand the TAL oil pipeline for Czechia is in full swing, Mero says

State-owned pipeline operator Mero began work in recent weeks to expand the TAL oil pipeline from Italy. Technical work is already in full swing in Gruben, Austria, and Trieste, Italy, where new pumps are being installed. Modifications are also under way on the connecting IKL pipeline and on domestic infrastructure. Mero told the Czech News Agency today. The project, costing approximately CZK 1.6 billion, is set to increase capacity for Czechia by four million tonnes of oil per year from 2025, making it possible to deliver up to eight million tonnes a year to the country by pipeline. The expansion is expected to end Czechia’s dependence on Russian oil from the middle of next year.

„Technological upgrades to the TAL pipeline are now in full swing in several countries at once. We are installing new pumps at the pumping station in Gruben, Austria, and installation of new pumps and motors has also begun in Trieste, Italy,“ said Mero CEO Jaroslav Pantůček.

He noted that the company is also working on modifications to oil infrastructure in Czechia. „At the Central Oil Tank Farm in Nelahozeves, we have installed a new, higher-capacity pipeline connecting the tank farm to the IKL pipeline,“ Pantůček said. A new SCADA control system has now begun operating on the IKL pipeline, which connects to the TAL pipeline in Germany and transports oil to Czechia via a western route. The system is intended to make its operation safer.

According to Pantůček, all work to expand the pipeline from Italy is progressing according to plan. „We expect to complete all technological upgrades to TAL by the end of this year and increase its transport capacity. At the beginning of 2025, we will complete the installation of backup pumps and carry out all the necessary tests and inspections. In the first half of 2025, Czechia will definitively cut itself off from Russian oil,“ Pantůček added.

The TAL pipeline starts in Trieste, where oil is imported from several countries and continents. The largest share comes from areas around the Caspian and Black Seas, the US and Africa. Mero has owned a 5% stake in the TAL pipeline since 2012.

In addition to expanding the pipeline, the Litvínov refinery will also need to adapt its operations once it switches entirely to non-Russian oil. Its owner, the Orlen Unipetrol group, is preparing investments worth several billion crowns to technically adapt operations there to different blends of oil. The other refinery, in Kralupy nad Vltavou, already uses non-Russian oil.

Oil currently reaches Czechia from two main sources. Of the 7.4 million tonnes of oil imported last year, around 58% arrived via the Druzhba pipeline, which carries oil from Russia. The rest comes through the German IKL pipeline, which connects to the Italian TAL pipeline. The expansion of TAL is expected to halt supplies from Russia; the IKL pipeline is already ready for higher capacity.

Some oil deliveries to Europe via the Druzhba pipeline are currently facing problems. Slovakia and Hungary announced in recent days that they had stopped receiving oil from Russian company Lukoil during July. The difficulties do not affect Czechia, however. According to Mero, supplies to the Czech Republic are stable and continuing according to the usual schedule.

sip rot