Minister Confirms Threat to Kazakh Oil Transit Through Russia

Oil transit from Kazakhstan through Russia along the Atyrau-Samara-Druzhba route may be completely suspended, Energy Minister Yerzhan Akkenzhenov said, Orda.kz reports.

According to him, there have been no official statements from the Russian side so far, but the information has been confirmed through unofficial channels. From May 1, 2026, oil pumping along this route may stop entirely.

According to unofficial sources, we know that this is true. For the month of May, we have zero transit through Atyrau-Samara.Akkenzhenov said.

He added that the Russian side explains this by a lack of technical capacity. In his view, this may be linked to recent strikes on Russian infrastructure.

According to Akkenzhenov, the authorities are already preparing to redirect oil to other routes. In particular, he mentioned the Caspian Pipeline Consortium and routes to China.

We are redistributing all volumes along other routes. This includes the CPC pipeline, the route to the People’s Republic of China and other directions.he said.

According to the Energy Ministry, supplies through Druzhba account for a relatively small share — about 3 million tons a year out of total production of 80 million tons. At the same time, Kazakh oil covers up to 20–30% of the needs of the refinery in Schwedt, Germany.

The minister stressed that there are no plans to reduce production, since the volumes can be redirected, and the situation at the CPC remains stable.

Original author: Alina Elgeldina

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