PRAGUE--The Czech government-owned crude oil pipeline operator
Mero CR AS said Tuesday it has agreed to buy a 5% stake in
Transalpine Pipeline, or TAL, for an undisclosed price from the
German unit of Royal Dutch Shell, as the former Communist nation
seeks to boost its energy security by lessening dependence on
Russian crude oil.
TAL links Italy's Adriatic coast with Austria and Germany. The
pipeline is mostly used for the transport of non-Russian crude
brought by tankers to the Italian port of Trieste.
"The stake in the TAL pipeline is key for our energy security
and policies of diversifying our crude supplies," said Martin Kuba,
the Czech minister for industry and trade, who oversees the
government's shareholding in Mero CR.
Fears of shut downs in Russian crude oil supplies emerged in
October when Russia diverted crude shipments from the
Druzhba/Friendship pipeline to other directions. As a result Czech
oil refiners, operated by Poland's PKN Orlen SA (PKN.WA), had to
rely solely on shipment from other sources.
"The situation which occurred in October was a warning sign,"
Mr. Kuba said. "However, our long-term policy priority lies in
diversification by using both Druzhba and TAL crude oil
sources."
In southern Germany the TAL pipeline hooks the
Ingolstadt-Kralupy-Litvinov, or IKL, pipeline, already owned by
Mero CR, which brings crude oil to Czech refineries north of the
German border.
Although Mero CR already transports non-Russian oil into the
Czech Republic, as a TAL shareholder it will be able to boost
Czech-bound oil volumes in this system by gaining preferential
access to TAL's capacity.
"If there was a complete disruption of crude oil flows in the
Druzhba pipeline, we can fully cover demands of Czech refiners
thanks to our position of a shareholder in the TAL pipeline," Libor
Lukasek, director for strategic development at Mero CR, said.
Mero CR bought TAL shares from Shell Deutschland Oil GmbH, a
unit of Royal Dutch Shell.
Other TAL shareholders include BP Plc (BP), ExxonMobil Corp.
(XOM), ConocoPhillips (COP), OMV AG (OMV.VI), Total SA (TOT) and
Italy's Eni SpA (E).
"Shell and Mero CR agreed not to disclose the price of the
transaction given the sensitivity of pipeline pricing issues," Mr.
Lukasek said.
Write to Leos Rousek at leos.rousek@dowjones.com
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