Russia to Stop Accepting Kazakhstan’s Oil Through Druzhba

The Russian government pledged to halt the flow of Kazakhstan’s oil through its Druzhba pipeline, according to sources reached by Reuters on April 21.Industry sources said that Russia sent an “adjusted export schedule” to Kazakhstan and Germany, starting on May 1.In late 2023, Kazakhstan started exporting its oil through Druzhba to Schwedt, a refinery in Germany.Kazakh oil has been processed in Germany for decades, but mostly pumped through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, then shipped to the port of Trieste in Italy, and then sent to Germany via the Trans-Alpine Pipeline.In 2025, Kazakh oil shipments to Germany via Druzhba totaled 2.1 million tons.Should the export route be interrupted, the Schwedt refinery will receive 17% fewer crude this year.According to Reuters, the refinery provides fuel to nine out of 10 cars in the Berlin and Brandenburg region.After repeated Ukrainian drone attacks against the Druzhba pipeline, oil flows were interrupted several times over the past months.The CPC, which remains the main export pipeline for Kazakh oil, was also repeatedly attacked by Ukraine, in an effort to hit Russia’s strategic infrastructure.Reached by Vlast, Kazakhstan’s ministry of energy did not comment.Sign up for our English-language newsletter.