“Due to heavy snowfall, the electricity supply at the gas station in Gruben is interrupted,” the ministry said. The daily Bild reported about it.
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It is not clear when the oil will flow through the pipeline again. “The return to normal operating conditions depends on the full restoration of power supply,” said Alessio Lilli, director of the TAL pipeline management company. “As long as that happens, it’s not known at this time.”
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According to TAL, the pipeline supplies Austria with 90 percent oil, the Czechia with 50 percent and Germany with 40 percent. South German Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg are completely dependent on it. The pipeline is owned by large energy companies such as Shell, Exxon Mobil and OMV, and the Czech pipeline operator Mero ČR also holds a 5% stake here.
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On the southern side of the main ridge of the Alps, it snowed very heavily last week, and according to the Austrian Meteorological Service, more snow fell in one week than is usual for the whole winter. Snowstorms severely damaged power lines, and thousands of households temporarily had to do without power. The authorities have not yet fully quantified the damage.
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“According to current information, Bavaria’s oil supply is not endangered,” the state economy ministry said. “Refineries have not yet had to stop processing oil.”
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TAL measures 753 kilometers. From its starting point on the Adriatic coast, it leads north through Austria to Ingolstadt in Bavaria, from where it continues west to Karlsruhe. In Ingolstadt, it is connected to the IKL oil pipeline, which has been transporting oil to the Czech Republic since 1996 and thus forms an alternative for supplies from the east via the Družba oil pipeline. The Czechia uses it primarily for low-sulfur non-Russian oil for the refinery in Kralupy nad Vltavou.
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