Kazakhstan's Energy Minister Erlan Akkenzhenov suggested that information that Russia will suspend supplies of Kazakh oil to Germany from May 1 “may turn out to be true.”
This is reported by the NUR.kz news agency.
“I received this information from unofficial sources. There is no official statement from the Russian Federation yet. But from unofficial sources we know that this is true. In May, we have transit through the Atyrau-Samara pipeline in this direction, then the Druzhba oil pipeline and then to the Schwedt plant.” The Schwedt refinery (PCK Raffinerie GmbH) is the fifth largest oil refinery in Germany, located in the city of Schwedt an der Oder. It is a strategically important facility that supplies fuel to most of Berlin and Brandenburg. we have zero in May,” said Akkengenow.
According to him, the Russian side, according to unofficial sources, claims that there is no technical possibility to pump Kazakh oil.
“Most likely, this is due to recent attacks on Russian infrastructure. I make this assumption,” the Kazakh Energy Minister noted.
He added that he had spoken with his colleagues, and as soon as the issue of technical feasibility is resolved, the transit of Kazakh oil will resume.
“Of course, we are redistributing all volumes along other routes. This includes the CPC pipeline.” The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) is a strategic route for transporting Kazakh oil through Russia to world markets. , it includes other directions and the service of the PRC, etc. No, a decrease in production is not expected. We have the opportunity to redistribute these volumes along other routes . The situation with the CPC is stable, everything is going well for us, everything is in order,” Akkenzhenov added.
The day before, Reuters, citing sources, reported that Russia plans to stop oil transit from Kazakhstan to Germany via the Druzhba oil pipeline from May 1. It is noted that the updated export schedule has already been submitted to Kazakhstan and Germany.
The Russian Energy Ministry did not respond to a Reuters request for comment, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he was unaware of any possible moves to halt oil exports.
“We will try to check this,” Peskov said.
Kazakhstan's oil exports to Germany through the Russian Druzhba oil pipeline last year amounted to 2.146 million tons (about 43 thousand barrels per day), which is 44% more than in 2024. In the first quarter of this year, this figure was 730 thousand tons.
If supplies completely cease, the German refinery PCK The German PCK refinery (PCK Raffinerie GmbH) is one of the largest and most important oil refineries in Germany, located in the city of Schwedt (Brandenburg state), near the border with Poland. will lose about 17% of its annual raw material volume, which is 12 million tons. Fuel from this refinery provides “9 out of 10 cars” in the Berlin and Brandenburg region, Reuters adds.