Czechia won’t pursue prolonging EU exemption on Russian oil imports ban

Czechia won’t ask for the prolonging of its exemption on the EU ban of Russian oil imports. The exemption is set to end on December 5.

“In the context of the current situation and steps which Czechia is undertaking to secure independence on crude imports from Russia, the Czech Republic does not see a reason why the exemption should be prolonged,” a spokesperson of the country’s Ministry of Industry and Trade, Marek Vošahlík was quoted as saying by the Czech Press Agency (ČTK).

Vošahlík’s comment for ČTK came shortly after he made similar comments for the Reuters international news agency, which also noted that the Czech position “does not rule out an extension” to the exemption, “as there may be further talks among parties including Poland”.

Poland’s Orlen operates two refineries in Czechia in Litvínov near the German border in the north and Kralupy nad Vltavou near Prague. In August, Orlen’s head Ireneusz Fafara told the Polish press agency PAP that Orlen is ready to end Russian oil imports completely, pending the completion of enhancing oil pipeline connections from Germany to Czechia.

“Orlen Group is ready to completely cut itself off from Russian crude oil which is currently processed only at the refinery in Litvínov in the Czech Republic,” Fafara was quoted as saying then.

The sitting centre-right Czech government expects the country to be freed from dependency on Russian oil imports by the middle of next year following the completion of the TAL-PLUS projects – a CZK1.6bn (€67.5mn) expansion of the TAL pipeline which runs from the Italian port city of Trieste north to Austria and Germany, where Czechia is connected to it with its IKL pipeline.

TAL-PLUS will increase the pipeline’s transporting capacity for Czechia to 4 million tonnes of oil annually, which will enable the country to stop importing oil from the Russian Druzhba [Friendship] pipeline.

Reuters noted, referring to its sources, that the exemption could be prolonged until June, which is when the TAL-PLUS should be operational.

Hungary and Slovakia have also been exempted from the EU sanctions on Russian oil imports due to their high dependency on imports. Representatives of the Slovak left-right cabinet of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico stated earlier that Slovakia wanted to continue importing Russian crude.

Slovakia’s oil refinery Slovnaft, owned by Hungarian energy group MOL, relies on Russian imports and ships fuel products westward, including to Czechia.

Reuters also noted that Czechia “could replace any reduction in Slovnaft fuel supplies by rail from other sources”, quoting two unnamed sources.

Last month, MOL warned of potential fuel disruptions if the exemption on Russian oil imports expires. MOL operates an extensive network of gas stations across Central Europe.