The planned closure poses a particular threat to Germany, where the Druzhba pipeline supplies 17pc of the crude oil processed by PCK refinery, which provides 90pc of the fuel used by Berlin\u2019s cars.<\/p>\n
The refinery, which sits 60 miles north-east of the capital and is one of the largest in the country, is also the biggest supplier of kerosene and heating fuel to Berlin and its airport.<\/p>\n
It was previously operated by the Moscow state energy giant Rosneft and relied heavily on Russian oil imports. That was until Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and Germany pivoted to Kazakh supplies.<\/p>\n
The Druzhba pipeline is one of the largest such networks in the world and runs from Russia and Kazakhstan to countries including Germany, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.<\/p>\n
Moscow\u2019s decision to close the pipeline is expected to put further pressure on Europe after the Iran war triggered the world\u2019s biggest energy crisis, sending fuel costs soaring.<\/p>\n
Oil prices jumped by more than 1pc on Wednesday morning to nearly $100 per barrel, up 37pc since the conflict in the Middle East began.<\/p>\n
This has stemmed from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>, which typically transports a fifth of the world\u2019s oil and gas supplies.<\/p>\n Fatih Birol, the chief executive of the International Energy Agency (IEA), warned last week that Europe had less than two months of jet fuel supplies left.<\/p>\n Industry sources told Reuters that the Kremlin warned Kazakhstan and Germany that oil would stop flowing through the Druzhba pipeline from May 1.<\/p>\n Germany\u2019s PCK refinery processes the crude oil supplied by the Druzhba pipeline – Christian Ender\/Getty Images<\/p>\n A senior Kazakh government official told the Financial Times<\/a> that Russia is trying to put pressure on Europe and Germany, which is the largest arms supplier to Ukraine.<\/p>\n Kazakhstan exports around 43,000 barrels of oil per day to Germany through the Druzhba pipeline, up 44pc since 2024.<\/p>\n The Russian president has a track record of weaponising energy supplies to pressure Europe, previously shutting down the Nord Stream pipeline<\/a> in 2022<\/p>\n It comes after Putin last month instructed officials to \u201cexplore the feasibility\u201d of cutting gas supplies to Europe<\/a>.<\/p>\n Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, told reporters he was not aware of a move to stop the oil exports. \u201cWe will try to check it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Separately on Wednesday, Russian oil flows restarted through the Ukrainian section of the Druzhba pipeline, which runs to Hungary and Slovakia.<\/p>\n This section of the pipeline had been closed for months after it was damaged by a Russian drone strike. After flows restarted, Hungary lifted its veto on a \u20ac90bn (\u00a378bn) European Union loan to Ukraine, which Prime Minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n had blocked pending the pipeline\u2019s repairs.<\/p>\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/11e379d0928def10446bb81bb301b6b2.jpeg\"\/)
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