TAL Pipeline Upgrades End Czech Reliance on Russian Oil

Upgrades to the Trans-Alpine (TAL) pipeline are complete, effectively ending the Czech Republic’s dependence on Russian crude oil, Prime Minister Petr Fiala announced Tuesday Jan. 14.
The move is a significant step in the country’s efforts to wean itself off Russian energy following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which prompted the EU to sanction Moscow.
The TAL pipeline, which runs from Italy to Germany before connecting to a pipeline serving the Czech Republic, has now doubled its capacity for the country, reaching 8 million metric tons annually. This capacity is sufficient to meet the Czech Republic’s total yearly oil demand.
Previously, the Czech Republic relied on the Druzhba pipeline from the east, which supplied half of the country’s oil.
“This is a crucial moment for the Czech Republic because Russia can no longer blackmail us with (energy supplies),” Fiala said.
While testing and certification of the upgraded TAL pipeline are still underway, Fiala stated that the country can already rely on it, should disruptions occur in Russian oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline, which has supplied the Czech Republic for six decades.
State pipeline company MERO anticipates beginning increased oil shipments via the TAL pipeline in the second quarter of the year.
The Czech Republic began diversifying its oil sources in 1995 with the construction of the IKL pipeline, which connects to TAL in southern Germany. However, one of the country’s two refineries, both owned by Poland’s Orlen, continued to process Russian oil.
Finance Minister Zbynek Stanjura said Orlen’s Czech unit Unipetrol has indicated it will make no oil purchases from Russia in the second half of the year.