2024-06-04 13:20:17
CTK
Up to date 4 minutes in the past
The Czech Republic will do away with its dependence on Russian oil by the center of subsequent yr on the newest. Prime Minister Petr Fiala desires to request the cancellation of the exemption for the import of Russian oil instantly after the Italian TAL pipeline growth venture is accomplished. Work on it’s now in full swing.
Technological modifications will probably be accomplished by the tip of this yr. Ending work and operational assessments will comply with. The Czech Republic is not going to be depending on Russian oil from the Druzhba pipeline after 60 years, Fiala mentioned after assembly with the administration of the state-owned firm Mero on the Nelahozeves Central Oil Tank. The Litvín refinery, which is already technologically prepared, can also be getting ready for an early transition, Orlen Unipetrol mentioned.
The expanded oil pipeline will convey a further 4 million tons of oil yearly to the Czech Republic. It’s going to cowl the consumption of each refineries in Litvínov and Kralupy nad Vltavou. “On the identical time, there will probably be a big modernization of the TAL pipeline, which will probably be among the many most secure and most effective in Europe,” added Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura.
The operator of home refineries, Orlen Unipetrol, can also be getting ready to modify from Russian oil. “The Lithuanian refinery is already technologically ready for the transition to the processing of recent oil mixtures. We at the moment are persevering with to check varied oil mixtures from around the globe, particularly of Guyanese, Iraqi, Saudi Arabian and North Sea origin, and we’re ready for the state firm Mero to finish the venture to extend the transportation capability of the TAL pipeline . This can enable us to begin the method of transitioning to those new oil mixtures,” mentioned firm spokesperson Pavel Kaidl.
On the identical time, he reminded that the corporate has been steadily growing the quantity of processed different oil mixtures since final July, primarily as a result of extra accessible transport capacities of the TAL pipeline. “As of the fourth quarter of 2023, we’re already importing and processing extra non-Russian oil than Russian oil. Within the first quarter of this yr, we’ve got diminished Russian oil imports by 22 p.c year-on-year,” Kaidl mentioned.
One other Orlen Unipetrol refinery in Kralupy nad Vltavou processes completely non-Russian oil, primarily from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia and North America.
Final yr, 7.4 million tons of oil flowed into Czech refineries, of which roughly 58 p.c was oil from the Druzhba pipeline, which leads from Russia. The remaining consisted of deliveries from the German IKL pipeline, which connects to the Italian TAL pipeline. Within the coming days, the primary technical modifications are being ready on it, the substitute of pumps in Gruben, Austria.