Czechia is on track to end its reliance on Russian oil within the next few months following the completion of key technical work on the TAL-PLUS oil pipeline expansion, announced by Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala on January 14.

The TAL-PLUS project, approved by the Czech government in November 2022, has expanded the transport capacity of the Transalpine Pipeline (TAL), enabling the country to fully replace Russian oil supplies with up to 8mn tonnes per year (160,000 barrels per day) of crude via the TAL and IKL pipelines. This volume is sufficient to meet Czechia’s total demand. Until now, Czechia could only secure 3-4mn tpy of crude from TAL.

Final operational tests and certifications of the upgraded system, conducted by Czech oil transmission operator MERO in partnership with the TAL consortium, are expected to conclude in the coming months. Full reliance on non-Russian oil transported through the TAL and IKL pipelines is anticipated by mid-year.

"Construction work on the TAL pipeline expansion has been successfully completed. This marks a pivotal moment for our energy security, ending decades of dependency on Russian oil and vulnerability to its regime. After eliminating reliance on Russian gas last year, we will now achieve independence from Russian oil," Fiala said.

Czech Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura stressed how quickly the project costing CZK1.6bn ($65mn) had been implemented. It was funded entirely by MERO without impacting the state budget. “In just two years since its approval, TAL-PLUS is technically prepared to secure the Czech Republic's full oil supply from the west," he said.

MERO CEO Jaroslav Pantůček described the project as one of the company’s most significant investments, noting that the system has already been successfully tested and is ready to replace Russian oil supplies in case of disruptions.

Czechia is one of the few EU markets still accepting Russian oil, alongside Hungary and Slovakia. The EU placed an embargo on Russian oil imports at the end of 2022 in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, but provided a temporary exemption to Czechia, Hungary and Slovakia, in light of their lack of alternatives to importing Russian crude via the Soviet-era Druzhba system.