Kazakhstan will send oil bypassing the Druzhba pipeline

Deliveries of Kazakh oil to Germany to the oil refinery in Schwedt in May will be sent bypassing the Druzhba pipeline, the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan reported.

"In connection with the adjustment of the transit schedule via the Druzhba system in the direction of Germany (the Schwedt refinery) for May 2026, the Ministry of Energy reports on the planned redistribution of export volumes of oil in the amount of 260 thousand tons," the report said.

The ministry noted that these volumes will be sent along alternative and technically proven routes.: 100 thousand tons — to the port of Ust-Luga and 160 thousand tons — to the system of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium. The Kazakh Ministry of Energy added that the change in the routes of Kazakhstan's oil exports via Druzhba will not affect the implementation of the annual production plan, the redirection of flows has been agreed with shippers and is of an operational nature.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on April 22 that Kazakh oil supplies to Germany from May 1 will be bypassed by the Druzhba pipeline, this is due to technical capabilities.

On April 22, the Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan Yerlan Akkenzhenov suggested that the lack of technical capability for pumping Kazakh oil from Russia is due to recent attacks on Russian infrastructure.

Kiev is constantly trying to strike at oil pipelines and their infrastructure in Russia. The Russian Defense Ministry pointed out that the goal is to destabilize the global hydrocarbon market and stop supplying oil and petroleum products to European consumers.

According to the Kazakh Minister of Energy, the German refinery in Schwedt is 20-30% dependent on oil from Kazakhstan. In 2025, the republic supplied 2.1 million tons in this direction, and this year it was planned to increase the volume to 3 million tons.