Restoration of Oil Supplies to the Czech Republic via Druzhba Pipeline

Prague, Dec 6 (NationPress) Crude oil shipments from Russia's Druzhba pipeline to the Czech Republic recommenced on Friday following a two-day suspension, as indicated by Czech refiner Orlen Unipetrol.

Mariusz Wnuk, CEO of the Orlen Unipetrol Group, announced on social media platform X, "Oil supplies were restored this morning and oil is flowing again through the Druzhba pipeline to the Czech Republic."

Oil deliveries via the Druzhba pipeline were halted on Wednesday. Upon declaring the interruption, Czech Industry and Trade Minister Lukas Vlcek stated there was no immediate threat of an oil deficit for homes and enterprises, as consistent supplies persisted through the Italian TAL pipeline.

Vlcek later revealed that the state would provide Orlen Unipetrol with 330,000 tonnes of crude oil from national reserves should a prolonged disruption occur, according to Xinhua news agency.

The exact reasons behind the supply halt remain unclear.

The Czech state-run oil pipeline operator Mero, which has been probing the cause of the interruption, confirmed in a statement that crude oil supplies have resumed but did not disclose the findings of the investigation.

"Oil started flowing to us again through Druzhba. The causes of the outage are still being investigated," Vlcek stated on Friday via X.

In 2022, the European Union imposed sanctions on Russian oil imports due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. However, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary were granted temporary exemptions to allow time for securing alternative sources of crude oil.

At present, the Czech Republic depends on two primary sources for crude oil. The Druzhba pipeline, which transports oil from Russia, accounted for 58 percent of the nation's supply last year, as per the Czech News Agency. The remaining supply is sourced through the German IKL pipeline, which connects to the Italian TAL pipeline.