Czech PM Declares Independence from Russian Oil: “Russia Can No Longer Blackmail Us”

Czechia has ended its reliance on Russian oil following the expansion of the Transalpine Pipeline (TAL) from Italy, Prime Minister Petr Fiala announced, according to Reuters on January 14.

“The construction of this expansion has now been completed,” Fiala said. “Russia can no longer blackmail us, and we have a guarantee that we can completely supply ourselves with oil from the West.”

The TAL pipeline, which carries oil from the Italian port of Trieste to southern Germany before linking to Czechia via the IKL pipeline, now provides double the previous oil import capacity, reaching eight million tons annually.

Finance Minister Zbynek Stanjura noted that the $61 million expansion was funded by the state-owned oil transit company Mero.

Since the 1960s, Czechia has relied heavily on the Russian Druzhba pipeline, a legacy of its Soviet-aligned past as part of Czechoslovakia. However, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the EU banned most Russian oil imports, initially exempting Druzhba due to limited alternatives.

Prime Minister Fiala vowed to remove this exemption as soon as viable alternative supplies were secured.

Mero CEO Jaroslav Pantucek confirmed that while minor adjustments are still underway, Czechia can now fully supply its refineries through the TAL pipeline. “We are fully capable of supplying oil to Czechia if supplies via Druzhba are halted,” Pantucek stated.

In 2023, Russian oil still comprised 58% of Czechia’s imports, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The TAL pipeline, operational since 1967, is managed by a consortium of eight oil companies, including Mero and major players such as Shell, Eni, and ExxonMobil.

Earlier, Russian energy giant Gazprom was preparing to cut its workforce at the company’s central office. The proposed cuts could affect 1,600 employees and are part of a broader effort to reduce costs following a steep decline in European gas exports.