UPDATE 2-Kazakhstan will divert oil meant for Germany to Russian ports

Kazakhstan will divert crude oil previously sent to Germany via the Druzhba pipeline to ports in Russia, its energy ministry ‌said on Tuesday, after Moscow announced it would halt the Kazakh flows from May. Those flows had helped supply the PCK Schwedt refinery, Berlin's main source of fuel, which the German government seized control of from Russian top stakeholder Rosneft following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

They accounted ‌for 17% of the refinery's crude. The ministry said in May some 160,000 tons will instead be sent to the ‌Caspian Pipeline Consortium's terminal on the Black Sea and 100,000 tons to Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea.

RUSSIAN FLOWS DISRUPTED Moscow's move to halt the Kazakh flows comes after Russian flows via a separate arm of the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia via Ukraine were recently disrupted.

Kyiv blamed that incident on Russian drone ⁠attacks on ​oil infrastructure while Hungary and Slovakia ⁠accused Ukraine of intentionally halting supply. Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak last week cited "technical reasons" for the halt to supply to Germany, offering no further explanation.

Industry sources ⁠said Ukrainian attacks on Druzhba facilities in Russia, including on the Unecha pumping station last year, could have reduced its capacity and ability to ​pump oil both to Germany and toward Hungary. Reuters was unable to establish the level of damage to the facilities or ⁠their capacity.

Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft did not reply to a request for comment. Ukraine has increased drone attacks in recent weeks on Russia's energy infrastructure, including its ⁠oil-exporting ports.

Kazakhstan ​energy minister Erlan Akkenzhenov said last week the decision to halt flows of its crude to Germany had likely been caused by Ukrainian drone strikes, without elaborating. Igor Yushkov, an analyst at Russia's government-run Financial University, said Russia's ports security was in Europe's interests.

"If ⁠Europe cannot influence Ukraine and attacks on Russian export terminals continue, the world risks losing not only part of Russian oil but ⁠also Kazakh oil, which would ⁠push prices higher," he said. Kazakhstan exported 2.146 million metric tons of oil to Germany last year via the Druzhba pipeline, or around 43,000 barrels per day. It sent 730,000 tons in the ‌first quarter of 2026.

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