PRAGUE, April 1. /TASS/. The Czech Republic’s oil reserves have decreased by a third since the suspension of crude deliveries through the Druzhba pipeline on March 4, leaving the country with enough supply to cover its needs for 60 days, the news website Idnes reported.
Deliveries via the Druzhba pipeline were halted due to payment processing issues between the oil buyer and the Russian supplier, which arose as a consequence of the latest package of US sanctions against Russia, Czech Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Sikela stated. In response, the Czech authorities provided the country’s oil refineries, which had been receiving Russian crude, with a loan of 330,000 metric tons of oil - approximately one-third of the total volume held in state reserves. According to the website, the refineries have already used half of the crude allocated by the government.
Meanwhile, the country is preparing to start receiving oil via the Transalpine Pipeline (TAL+) from mid-April, following a significant expansion of its capacity. This route is expected to supply the country with approximately 8 mln metric tons of crude oil annually, fully covering the country’s oil demand. The portal also reported that Orlen Unipetrol, the company that owns the refineries, has committed to replenishing the 330,000 metric tons of oil loaned from state reserves by the end of August. As a result, within five months, the volume of this energy resource in the reserves will be restored to the standard level required to ensure 90 days’ worth of consumption.
In 2024, the Czech Republic imported 42% of its total crude oil purchases via the Russian Druzhba pipeline. This year, the country plans to completely phase out imports of this type of energy resource from Russia.