In brief

• Kazakhstan's energy minister says Astana has formally asked Russia to restart oil transit to Germany via Druzhba and is waiting for a reply.
• Russia halted the transit in May, citing a lack of technical capacity.
• Kazakhstan shipped 2.1 million tonnes via Druzhba in 2025 and 1.02 million tonnes in January to April 2026, and does not expect resumption before December.

Astana presses Moscow for an answer

Kazakhstan's Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov said on November 4 in Astana that he had personally handed Russia a formal request to resume shipments through Druzhba, according to Interfax. He told reporters the Kazakh side is now waiting for Moscow's response and that Kazakhstan has the technical capacity to resume exports (Казахстан ждет от России ответа по возобновлению поставок нефти по «Дружбе» – kommersant.ru).

Shipments stopped in May

Russia stopped transit of Kazakh crude to Germany through Druzhba in May. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak attributed the decision to a lack of technical possibilities («Дружба» снова в центре внимания. Казахстан добивается от РФ возобновления поставок нефти в Германию – NV). Kazakh officials previously said supplies could restart once all parties agree and technical barriers are removed.

Volumes fall short of plans

Kazakhstan shipped 2.1 million tonnes of oil to the Schwedt refinery in Germany via Druzhba in 2025. For 2026 it had planned about 3 million tonnes on this route. From January to April 2026 it delivered 1.02 million tonnes. The minister has said supplies will not resume in the next three months, September through November.

What is still unknown

None of the reports cited gives a date for Moscow's reply or a condition under which flows would restart beyond the technical and multilateral agreement Kazakhstan has described (Казахстан запросил у России возобновление поставок нефти по «Дружбе» – life.ru). Life.ru reports that Astana had earlier declined to resume deliveries to Germany, but the material does not confirm the details of that earlier position. Business FM's coverage in the same material is a news feed without details on Druzhba (Казахстан просит Россию о возобновлении транзита нефти по «Дружбе» – bfm.ru).