The oil refinery in Schwedt has started receiving oil from South America instead of Kazakh crude. The change occurred after the transit of Kazakh oil via the Druzhba pipeline was halted from 1 May 2026.
HOW THE SUPPLY SCHEME HAS CHANGED
According to the Telegram channel "Oil and Gas of Kazakhstan", a subsidiary of the Polish energy group Unimot delivered a seaborne batch of oil to the port of Gdańsk. The crude is then transported to the refinery in Schwedt via the pipeline infrastructure of the Polish company PERN.
A statement from Unimot says the delivered oil was purchased in South America.
WHY KAZAKH OIL SUPPLIES WERE HALTED
Previously, PERN pumped oil from Kazakhstan through the territory of Poland from the Belarusian border to Schwedt. However, from 1 May 2026, the Russian company Transneft stopped the transit of Kazakh oil along this route via the Druzhba pipeline.
The formal reason cited was a "lack of technical capability". At the same time, the Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, Alexander Novak, stated that the cessation of transit was related to technical capabilities.
"From 1 May, the volumes of Kazakh oil that previously went to Germany will be redirected to other available logistical routes. This is due to current technical capabilities. The Germans have refused Russian oil, so everything is fine with them," he noted.
CONTEXT
In April 2026, it became known that from 1 May, the transit of Kazakh oil to Germany via the northern branch of the Druzhba pipeline through Russia would be stopped. Later, Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov stated that the May delivery schedule indicated zero transit volumes along this route.
Amid the restrictions, the Ministry of Energy reported the redistribution of 260,000 tonnes of oil to alternative export destinations. Of this amount, 100,000 tonnes were sent to the port of Ust-Luga, and another 160,000 tonnes via the CPC system.
