PRAGUE (AP) — Oil deliveries to the Czech Republic from Russia through the Druhzba pipeline have been halted, the state company operating the pipeline network said Tuesday.
It was not immediately clear why oil deliveries stopped via the pipeline, the only one delivering oil to the country from Russia. Problems with supplies are not expected as the Czechs shift away from dependence on Moscow.
The Czech Republic also has three months of reserves.
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This is the second time delivery to the country has been recently interrupted. The last time was for several days in December.
The Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary are the only remaining European Union member states still receiving oil from Russia. The other 24 stopped buying it as part of EU sanctions following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The Czechs announced in January they had completed a project to end the country’s dependence on oil delivery from Russia after investing some $60 million to double the capacity of the Italian TAL pipeline to 8 million metric tons a year. A branch of the pipeline, which continues as IKL through Germany, serves the Czech Republic, or Czechia.
The state company overseeing the pipeline network in the Czech Republic, Mero, said it has completed the testing of that pipeline and it can be immediately used if needed.
