2023-09-17 04:08:22
The Czech Republic is increasing imports of Russian oil despite EU sanctions. In the first half of 2023, the share of Russian oil in imports accounted for 65 percent – this is the highest value since at least 2012. For the whole of 2022 it was 56 percent and previously even less, the responsible state company Mero told the CTK news agency with.
There has been a ban on imports of Russian oil in the EU since 2022, but the Czech Republic has a temporary exception. Oil imports from Russia are realized through the “Druzhba” (“Friendship”) oil pipeline.
The Mero company is the owner and operator of the Czech part of “Druzhba” and the Czech part of the “IKL” pipeline (from Germany). At the same time it is the only Czech importer of oil.
However, according to analysts, the Czech Republic is not the only EU country where the share of imported Russian oil has increased in recent months. EU refineries fear disruption to oil transit through Ukraine and are therefore trying to source more Russian oil. Analysts also point out that Russian oil is currently much cheaper than Brent oil.
In the future, the Czech Republic wants to completely abandon Russian oil. Therefore, Mero recently started expanding the European TAL pipeline to increase capacity. Around 1.6 billion crowns (65.3 million euros) are to be invested in the project. Once the work is completed, the pipeline will enable the import of up to 8 million tons of oil annually from 2025. This pipeline, which currently covers around 50 percent of the Czech Republic’s oil needs, should make the Czech Republic practically independent of Russian oil.
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