Germany is exploring an oil route through Poland

Germany is negotiating with Poland regarding potential alternative supplies for the PCK Schwedt refinery. This follows Russia’s announcement that it will no longer transport Kazakh crude oil to Germany via the Druzhba pipeline starting May 1.

According to a Reuters report, a spokesperson for the German Ministry of Economics stated that talks with Poland are ongoing. He did not provide any details. Supply contracts are a matter for the companies involved, but the German government is closely monitoring the process.

Gdansk as a possible alternative route

A temporary supply route via the Polish port of Gdańsk is under discussion. From there, oil could be transported to Schwedt via existing infrastructure. Poland, however, is attaching conditions to such deliveries.

According to Bloomberg, Paweł Łukaszewicz of the Polish state-owned pipeline operator PERN stated that the recipient of the crude oil must be one of the non-Russian shareholders of the refinery—namely, Shell or Eni.

The Schwedt refinery is partly controlled by Eni and Shell. The Russian company Rosneft’s stake of more than 54 percent has been under the German government’s trusteeship since 2022.

A spokesperson for the Polish Ministry of Energy told Reuters that Poland technically has the capacity to handle emergency deliveries to Schwedt. However, whether larger volumes are possible depends on operational, logistical, and market-related factors.

Kazakhstan is rerouting supplies

The Schwedt refinery, which supplies the greater Berlin area with fuels, among other things, must now seek alternative sources of supply. Until now, Kazakh crude oil deliveries to Germany also came via the Druzhba pipeline.

In 2025, these deliveries totaled 2.146 million tons, or about 43,000 barrels per day. That was a 44 percent increase compared to 2024. In the first quarter of 2026, deliveries had already reached 730,000 tons.

Kazakhstan now plans to redirect the volumes originally intended for Germany to global markets via other routes and through Russian territory. Azattyq reported this, citing the Kazakh Ministry of Energy. The changes are operational in nature and will have no impact on Kazakhstan’s production or export targets.