Kazakhstan’s state-owned pipeline operator has applied to export oil to Germany via the Druzhba link as Berlin looks to replace deliveries of Russian crude.
Kaztransoil asked its Russian counterpart Transneft to send 20,000 tons through the Druzhba pipeline, company spokesman Shyngys Ilyasov said by phone. Kazakhstan aims to send 1.2 million tons of oil to Germany this year, he said.
Kazakhstan plans to send the first shipment on Wednesday, according to the Astana-based Energy Ministry.
Germany has historically been Europe’s biggest buyer of Russian crude, but is aiming to reduce its dependence after the invasion of Ukraine. Although the European Union has exempted imports of Russian barrels through pipelines from sanctions, Germany has pledged to stop all purchases this year, partly switching to Kazakh supplies.
Poland, which still buys Russian crude, earlier this month said it was worried about the replacement plan. There are no guarantees that shipments to Germany will originate in Kazakhstan, rather than Russia, Poland’s Climate Minister Anna Moskwa said.
Germany’s economy ministry said some mixing of Kazakh and Russian crude is inevitable. “What is critical is that there are no more shipments from Russia, so that there is no money flowing into Russia,” a ministry spokeswoman said.
The northern branch of the giant Druzhba pipeline system feeds two refineries in eastern Germany and plants in Poland. Kazakhstan has the capacity to increase annual deliveries by 6 million tons, the country’s Energy Ministry, Bolat Akchulakov, said earlier this year.
