Czechia grows its imports of Russian oil to 11-year high

The Czech Republic received 65% of all imported oil from Russia in the first half of 2023. During the same period last year, the share of Russian imported oil was 56%, Hospodarske Noviny writes with reference to the statement of the representative of Mero, the state operator of Czech oil pipelines.

The share of imported oil from Russia is the highest since 2012, the publication specifies.

Since last year, the EU has banned the import of oil from Russia, but there is an exception for the Czech Republic. The country can receive Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline. Czechia also receives oil from the IKL pipeline from Germany, which connects to the TAL pipeline from Italy.

The Czech Republic is increasing its purchases of Russian oil due to fears that supplies from Russia through the territory of Ukraine may stop at any moment due to hostilities.

According to the estimates of the non-governmental organization No Russian Oil, from the beginning of 2023, $1.1 billion worth of Russian oil was imported into the Czech Republic, while $308 million was paid to the Russian budget.

The Czech Republic plans to completely abandon Russian oil by 2025. The Mero operator has started project work on expanding the capacity of the European TAL pipeline. The $700 million project should increase oil imports by 4 million tons per year — up to 8 million tons.

Since the beginning of the year, the Czech Republic has stopped importing Russian gas, having announced full gas independence from the Russian Federation. The country receives gas from LNG terminals in the Netherlands and Belgium.

On August 22, 2023, Bloomberg wrote that the cap on Russian oil prices is no longer working.

On September 5, oil exceeded $90 for the first time in 10 months. Saudi Arabia and Russia have restricted supplies.

On September 6, the G7 postponed the review of price restrictions on Russian oil.