economy
May 3, 2026
Halt in oil shipments through Druzhba pipeline sparks panic in German city
Kazakh oil imports via the Soviet pipeline operated by Russia have been used to supply one of Germany’s biggest refineries providing fuel to Berlin
TL;DR
- Residents of Schwedt, Germany, fear economic collapse due to potential disruption of oil supplies to the PCK refinery.
- Russia cited a lack of "technical capacity" for halting Kazakh oil transit via the Druzhba pipeline.
- The PCK refinery supplies 90% of fuel to Berlin and Brandenburg.
- If oil flow stops, residents fear being thrown back "to the 19th century" and potential unrest due to fuel price hikes.
- Kazakhstan plans to reroute supplies via Russian Baltic and Black Sea ports, but this may limit the refinery to 65-70% capacity.
- Reduced capacity could lead to production line shutdowns and staff reductions.
- Kazakh Energy Minister linked the disruption to Ukrainian strikes on Russian infrastructure, including oil transit hubs.
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