Since May 1, Kazakh oil has been flowing to Germany via alternative routes. Kazakhstan's Energy Ministry told TASS about the conditions under which a return to the previous scheme is possible. ... reports infohub.kz.
"Currently, supplies of Kazakh oil via the Atyrau-Samara route and the Druzhba pipeline towards Germany are temporarily suspended due to technical infrastructure constraints on the transit side. If these infrastructure constraints are removed, supplies could resume in the established order, provided there are appropriate agreements among all interested parties," the ministry said.
The halt of supplies via Druzhba since May became known in April 2026. At that time, Energy Minister Erlan Akkenzhenov said that transit of Kazakh oil to the German city of Schwedt was not planned for May. According to him, the Russian side had unofficially stated that there was no technical possibility to pump oil through this route. Akkenzhenov noted that despite increased shipments, Kazakhstan covers only 20-30% of the German refinery's oil needs.
After the suspension of supplies via Druzhba, Kazakhstan redirected some volumes through the Russian port of Ust-Luga and the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC). The Energy Ministry noted that the halt of one route would not affect production volumes, as oil can be redistributed to other directions.
Kazakhstan began supplying oil to Germany via Druzhba in 2023. In 2026, it was planned to export about 3 million tons of oil through this route.