Russia economy meltdown as Kremlin loses major oil buyer while price of crude hits £51

The Czech Republic has declared itself fully independent of Russian oil supplies in a further blow to Russia's beleaguered economy. Czech government officials said it was the first time in its history that the country had ended its supplies from the east.

The announcement came upon completion of upgrades to the Transalpine (TAL) pipeline which have boosted the capacity of oil flowing from the west. Prime Minister Petr Fiala told a news conference broadcast on Czech TV that the first increased supplies from the pipeline had reached a central oil depot.

Mr Fiala, speaking at the depot in Nelahozeves, near the capital Prague, said: "After roughly 60 years, our dependence on Russia has ended. For the first time in history, the Czech Republic is completely supplied by non-Russian oil, and fully supplied through western routes."

For decades the country was partially supplied with oil by Russia along the Druzhba pipeline. It has made up around half the Czech Republic's yearly oil imports, according to the Reuters news agency.

Czech pipeline operator MERO completed an upgrade to the TAL pipeline at the end of 2024. TAL carries oil from tankers in Trieste, Italy, to Germany. Here it links up with the Ingolstadt–Kralupy–Litvinov pipeline to the Czech Republic.

Kyrylo Shevchenko, former Head of the National Bank of Ukraine, said the increased capacity meant the Czech Republic could now import eight million tonnes of crude oil per year.

In an X post hailing the announcement, Mr Shevchenko said: "For the first time in its history, the Czech Republic has fully cut off Russian oil.

"Following the upgrade of the TAL pipeline from the West, the country can now import up to 8M tonnes of crude annually—enough to cover the full capacity of its refineries. Another customer lost for the Kremlin."

The Czech Republic imported 6.5 million tonnes of oil in 2024, with 42% coming via the Druzhba pipeline, according to Industry Ministry statistics cited by Reuters. For the two years previous Russian imports totalled 58% of supplies.

Last year, the Czech Republic received oil imports from Azerbaijan Kazakhstan, Norway and Guyana.

Brussels exempted the Czech Republic, along with Slovakia and Hungary, from sanctions on Russian crude oil in the wake of Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Russian pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) are not subject to sanctions, although the pipeline through Ukraine was stopped in December last year, ending Gazprom’s gas deliveries to Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Austria.

France was the largest importer of Russian fossil fuels within the European Union, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

The country's imports, including Russian LNG, totalled £290.6million (399m euros) in February. However, a recent study shows some Russian LNG entering France through its Dunkerque terminal is delivered to Germany.

In the same month, the five countries that bought most Russian fossil fuels in the EU were France, Hungary, Belgium, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, according to CREA.

Only months after Russia invaded Ukraine, the UK, US, Canada and Australia announced outright bans on the purchase of Russian oil. China and India, however, continue to buy.

Meanwhile, the price of crude this week recovered some of the sharp losses seen over the past few weeks amid market jitters over US President Donald Trump's tariffs announcement.

Prices crashed to near $50 (£37.69) per barrel amid fears the tariffs would have a chilling effect on the global economy and reduce demand for fossil fuels.

But stocks in companies in the oil-and-gas industry rallied on Thursday (April 17), with Diamondback Energy up 5.7% and Halliburton climbing 5.1%.

US benchmark crude oil gained $2.18 (£1.64) to $64.01 (£48.25) per barrel yesterday. Brent crude, the international standard, picked up $2.11 (£1.59) to $67.96 (£51.23) per barrel. Oil trading was paused on Good Friday for the Easter weekend.