The Polish oil and gas company Orlen has ended the supply of Russian crude oil to its refinery in Litvínov in the Czech Republic, ending a long-standing dependence on Russian energy sources. Orlen CEO Ireneusz Fafara called June 30, 2025, a "historic date" because it marks the end of the last contract for Russian oil supplies, which expired on Monday.
Fafara stressed that Orlen has ensured continuity of oil supply from alternative routes, mainly through the Transalpine Oil Pipeline (TAL), which transports oil from the Italian port of Trieste to Central Europe.
Since the start of the process of moving away from Russian oil, Orlen has signed 74 new contracts with suppliers from different parts of the world, none of which include Russia. The first oil delivery via the TAL pipeline arrived in Litvinov in April 2025, signalling a successful switch to new sources. Since 1965, the Litvinov refinery has processed mainly Russian crude oil transported via the Druzhba pipeline. In 2024, Russian oil via Druzhba accounted for 42 % of the total volume of oil imported into the Czech Republic.
The Czech Republic consumes approximately 7-8 million tonnes of crude oil annually (approximately 160,000 barrels per day), which is processed in two main refineries: in Litvínov (capacity of 5.4 million tonnes per year) and in Kralupy nad Vltavou (capacity of 3.3 million tonnes per year). These refineries are owned by Orlen Unipetrol, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Polish Orlen.
Until 2024, the Druzhba pipeline covered approximately 50 % of Czech oil demand, while the rest was imported via the IKL pipeline, which is connected to TAL. With the completion of the TAL pipeline upgrade (TAL-PLUS project), it is now possible to meet the entire Czech oil demand from non-Russian sources, mainly from areas such as Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Latin America and the North Sea.
Orlen Unipetrol said back in 2024 that 90 % of oil processed at its refineries comes from non-Russian sources, and the new contracts include supplies from Latin America, Saudi Arabia and the North Sea. In addition, the possibility of using the Druzhba pipeline for alternative supplies, for example from Kazakhstan or Ukraine, or for reverse flow of oil from west to east, for example to Slovakia, is being considered.
The European Union has imposed an embargo on Russian oil imports by sea from December 2022, but countries such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary have been granted an exemption to import Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline due to a lack of alternative sources.
Sanctions and disruptions to supplies through Druzhba, for example in March 2025 due to payment problems associated with US sanctions, have led to a temporary drop in oil supplies in the Czech Republic. In response, the government released 330 000 tonnes of oil from state reserves to ensure the smooth operation of refineries. These reserves were sufficient to cover 60 days of consumption, and Orlen Unipetrol has committed to replenish these stocks by the end of August 2025.
The Czech Republic is also planning to modernise its refineries to better process lighter grades of crude from non-Russian sources, which requires further investment. The long-term goal is to ensure a stable and diversified oil supply, which includes a potential link between the Litvínov refinery and the Spergau refinery in Germany.
TASS/gnews.cz - GH
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