Russia plots closure of vital oil pipeline to Germany as Putin threatens to choke off Europe's supply
Moscow has announced plans to shut off Germany from the Druzhba pipeline.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is threatening to choke off Europe’s vital oil supplies by shutting down part of a major pipeline travelling into Germany.
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Moscow has announced plans to close the Druzhba pipeline within nine days, slashing Europe’s oil imports amid a looming supply crisis sparked by the Iran war.
The Kremlin blamed this on “technical” reasons and said the oil will be redirected through other routes.
Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday: “From 1 May, volumes of Kazakh oil previously transported via the Druzhba pipeline to Germany will indeed be redirected to other available logistics routes. This is due to current technical capacities.”
He added: “The Germans have given up on Russian oil, so they are doing fine.”
Fears have surged in Germany, which relies on the Druzhba pipeline for 17% of its crude oil processed by the PCK refinery.
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This site provides up to 90% of fuel for Berlin’s cars and is also the main supplier of kerosene and heating fuel for the capital and its airport.
It was formerly controlled by Rosneft, Russia’s state-owned energy giant, and was strongly reliant on oil imports coming from Russia until Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Germany has since been dependent on oil imports from Kazakhstan arriving through the Druzhba pipeline.
The structure stretches from Russia to Kazakhstan and extends into vast areas of eastern and central Europe including Germany, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
Germany’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy has raced to calm fears of supply issues following Russia’s announcement.
It comes as a blockade in the Strait of Hormuz amid the Iran war continues to pose a looming threat to Europe’s energy supplies.
It said in a statement:“Rosneft Deutschland is currently assessing the implications and will adapt to any new situation
“Rosneft Deutschland is aware of its responsibility to the region and will fulfil its obligations. At the same time, existing options will be utilised to ensure security of supply in Germany.”
It added that a lack of Kazakh oil imports to the refinery “does not ultimately jeopardise the security of supply of mineral oil products in Germany, even if PCK Schwedt would have to operate at a lower capacity.”
It comes as the EU has warned that Europe is in a "very serious crisis" in aviation fuel stocks due to the Iran war, which could force some people to change their holiday plans this summer.The International Energy Agency has warned that supply issues could come in five to six weeks’ time.
Energy markets have been in continuous flux since the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February.
Iran responded by effectively blocking the Strait of Hormuz waterway, which is one of the world's busiest oil shipping lanes.
Dan Jorgensen, the EU energy commissioner, said on Wednesday: “Unfortunately, it's very likely that many people's holidays will be affected, either by flight cancellations or very, very expensive tickets.”"Even if we do everything we can do, if the jet fuel is not there, then it's not there," he told Sky News.
Mr Jorgensen added: "[Currently] it is primarily a crisis of prices and not yet a crisis of supply, but unfortunately we cannot be sure to prevent a crisis of supply, especially on jet fuel in the future, if the crisis continues."