Because of the oil embargo against Russia, the Schwedt refinery can only run at 50 percent capacity. In order to ramp up production again, Kazakhstan wants to deliver 100,000 tons of oil to Germany in March. The deal doesn't just have a catch, however.
According to insiders, Kazakhstan will deliver around 100,000 tons of oil to Germany in March via the Druzhba pipeline. The oil is destined for the east German refinery Schwedt, two people familiar with the negotiations told the Reuters news agency. All parties involved agreed to the legal and financial terms of the agreement. Kazakhstan's oil company Kazmunaigaz will deliver the quantities via the Russian pipeline system and the operator Transneft. The customer is Rosneft Germany, which is currently under state trusteeship. However, the Russian group still holds a good 54 percent of the shares in Schwedt.
In German government circles it was said that quantities of oil from Kazakhstan were expected for Schwedt as early as February. But this is not the same contract. The Federal Ministry of Economics does not comment on the individual contracts of the companies. A spokeswoman told Reuters: "There will be further talks with the Kazakh government in February." After the embargo on Russian oil since the beginning of the year, Schwedt can only run at half speed. The refinery is supplied via the port of Rostock, but requires additional quantities.
The Polish port of Gdansk would have to be used for this. However, Poland attaches permanent aid to the fact that Rosneft no longer holds shares in Schwedt. The federal government has now introduced a draft law according to which the shares can also be sold without prior - legally difficult - nationalization. Poland also wants the state-controlled Orlen group to take over shares. Kazakh oil is to be used to bridge the gap and as an additional option.
However, this flows around 2000 kilometers over Russian territory, which could affect the security of supply. In addition, transit fees are due, which flow to Russia. Rosneft, Kazmunaigaz, Transneft and the Kazakh Ministry of Energy did not respond to Reuters inquiries. Shell, the second largest Schwedt owner, did not want to comment. The Italian Eni, which holds a good eight percent of the shares, initially did not comment either.
