ASTANA, April 22. /TASS/. A possible interruption of Kazakh oil exports via the Druzhba pipeline is not critical for Kazakhstan, the country’s First Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar told reporters.
"It's not critical for us," he said responding to a question about Kazakh oil supplies to Germany via the Druzhba pipeline. He noted that this is only "one of the routes."
Earlier Kazakh Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov told reporters that the country received unofficial information about the impossibility of transporting fuel via the Druzhba pipeline in May. According to him, the Russian side, citing unofficial sources, "stated the lack of technical capability to transport Kazakh oil." He added that during the planned supply suspension, Kazakhstan is redirecting crude flows to other destinations, including the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC).
On April 21, at a briefing, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on reports that Russia could allegedly halt oil transit from Kazakhstan to Germany via the Druzhba pipeline starting May 1. He noted that the relevant Russian companies should be contacted regarding this matter.
Kazakhstan's national operator, Kaztransoil, ensures oil transit through Russia via the Transneft pipeline system. Kazakh oil is then pumped through Belarus via the pipeline system of JSC Gomeltransneft Druzhba to the Adamova Zastava oil delivery point for further delivery to an oil refinery in the German city of Schwedt. This transit is carried out under the relevant intergovernmental agreement between Kazakhstan and Russia dated June 7, 2002. In 2025, Kazakhstan delivered 2.1 million tons of oil to Germany via the Druzhba pipeline.