Kazakhstan announces Russia’s support for oil transit via Druzhba to Germany

Russia has supported the transit of Kazakh oil via the Druzhba pipeline to Germany, Kazakh Energy Minister Bolat Akchulakov said.

“We were waiting for official confirmation from colleagues from Russia, a pass through the territory of the Russian Federation, so here we have oral confirmation,” he said (cit. according to RIA Novosti).

On December 29, 2022, Kaztransoil, an oil pipeline company of Kazakhstan, announced that it had submitted an application from Transneft for the transit of 1.2 million tons of Kazakh oil to Germany in 2023. Transneft received this information. Then Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak informedthat Russia is ready to support oil supplies to Germany.

December 20, 2022 Transneft official representative Igor Demin spokethat the decision on the transit of oil can only be taken by the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation. Then he noted that Kazakhstan cannot replace the volumes of energy that used to go from Russia to Germany.

On December 3, the EU countries agreed on a price ceiling for Russian oil of $60 per barrel. The document was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 4 December. The restriction came into force on December 5, along with a ban on the supply of Russian oil by sea to the EU countries. For petroleum products, the restriction will take effect from February 5, 2023. In addition to the EU countries, the G7 countries and Australia also joined the ceiling.

On December 27, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on retaliatory measures to the oil price ceiling. According to the text of the document, a ban is introduced on the supply of Russian oil and oil products to foreign companies and individuals, if the contracts directly or indirectly provide for a cap price mechanism. The ban on oil supplies comes into force on February 1, 2023, and the Russian government will determine the date for oil products.