Russia has told German trustees that it will prohibit transit of Kazakh crude oil through the Druzhba pipeline to the PCK refinery in Schwedt from May 1, 2026, a step that risks reducing output at the plant that supplies most of Berlin’s fuel. Rosneft Germany notified the Federal Network Agency, acting as trustee, saying the measure follows instructions from the Russian Ministry of Energy. The Russian government has not formally confirmed the ban to German authorities. Reuters first reported the development on April 21.
PCK, about 100 km north of Berlin, was run by Rosneft until the German government seized operations after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Since then the refinery has increasingly relied on Kazakh crude moved across Russian territory, as well as seaborne deliveries via ports such as Rostock and supplies from Poland. About 17% of the nearly 12 million metric tons PCK processes annually currently arrives via the Druzhba pipeline; a full halt would force the plant to cut output, though it is not entirely dependent on that single route.
The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy said Rosneft Germany is assessing the implications and will adapt to ensure security of supply. A ministry spokesperson added that the stoppage of Kazakh transit would not ultimately endanger Germany’s overall supply of petroleum products, but acknowledged PCK would face significant challenges. PCK did not comment.
The announcement comes amid wider global energy strains. Conflict in the Gulf region and disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz have tightened supplies and pushed up prices. Kerosene — used for jet fuel and produced at PCK — is in short supply and has contributed to airlines cutting services; Lufthansa recently reduced roughly 20,000 flights in its May–October schedule, citing fuel constraints.
Since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has frequently used energy exports as leverage. The EU has moved to cut its dependence on Russian fuel: Russian gas made up about 45% of EU imports before the war and fell to about 12% by 2025, while oil dependence dropped from roughly 27% to 2%. The REPowerEU plan aims to end Russian oil and gas imports by 2027.
Benjamin Hilgenstock, senior economist at the Kyiv School of Economics, said the decision highlights Russia’s continued capacity to threaten European energy security and urged Germany and the EU to accelerate the exit from Russian fossil fuels.
The Kremlin has not officially confirmed the Druzhba transit ban. President Vladimir Putin has recently asked his government to explore options for reducing energy deliveries to Europe, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has criticized the EU’s sanctions policy. Kazakhstan’s energy minister suggested technical problems caused by Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian energy infrastructure could be a factor in the pipeline’s closure.
Kazakhstan began shipping crude to Schwedt in January 2023, helping the refinery diversify away from sole reliance on Russian crude. PCK remains Russian-owned but is operated under German control and has been exempted from U.S. sanctions on Rosneft to permit continued operation; that exemption was extended in March without a specified end date after intensive German lobbying due to the refinery’s strategic role.