Kazakh oil transit to Germany has been secured following an agreement between pipeline operators in Poland and Russia, reported Reuters, citing sources.
This agreement ensures the flow will not be interrupted in June as previously feared.
It comes after a warning of potential halt due to certification issues with oil flow meters in Poland, which are essential for the transit.
Poland’s PERN, Russia’s Transneft, and Germany’s PCK Schwedt refinery have reached a consensus to appoint a non-Russian company to service the oil flow meters on the Polish section of the Druzhba pipeline.
This move resolves concerns that PERN might violate Western sanctions against Russia.
A Slovak company has been selected to provide the necessary metering services, thus mitigating the risk of sanctions for PERN.
The certification of the meters, which must be conducted periodically to comply with Russian standards, had become a contentious issue.
Transneft, the operator of the Druzhba pipeline, had last month warned Kazakhstan that its oil transit to Germany could be disrupted by the impasse.
With a capacity to carry two million barrels of oil per day (bpd), the Druzhba pipeline is one of the largest in the world.
Kazakhstan is heavily reliant on Russian infrastructure for its oil exports. The country’s oil exports, amounting to 1.5 million bpd or 1.5% of the global supply, primarily traverse Russian pipelines.
The northern leg of the Druzhba system, which services Germany via Poland and Belarus, is currently utilised for Kazakhstan’s KEBCO oil exports to the Schwedt refinery.
This refinery is a key supplier of Berlin’s fuel needs.
Although the volume is relatively modest, with an anticipated 1.2 million metric tonnes this year, it has enabled Germany to reduce its dependence on Russian oil—a commitment made by Berlin in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Kazakhstan’s state oil company KazMunayGaz has confirmed the extension of its contract to supply the Schwedt refinery until the end of the year.
Meanwhile, a PERN spokeswoman stated that the company is collaborating with contractors to ensure a solution that aligns with current legislation.
Kaztransoil, Kazakhstan’s pipeline operator, has indicated that there are currently no restrictions on shipping Kazakh crude oil to the Adamowo base on the Polish section of the pipeline near the Belarusian border.
The Energy Ministry of Kazakhstan, in a written response to Reuters, affirmed that “Kazakhstan and Russian parties have agreed to ship via Transneft and Druzhba trunk systems 1.2 million tons of crude from Kazakhstan to Schwedt refinery.”
Requests for comments were not answered by Transneft and Germany’s economy ministry declined to comment on company-specific issues, the publication said.
