The U.S. is in talks with the German government and Russian officials to resume refinement of Russian oil from a major pipeline snaking through the NATO country, according to German and independent Russian media reports.
Newsweek has reached out to the White House, the German chancellor’s office and Berlin’s finance ministry for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Moscow is a major oil exporter, but countries backing Ukraine after Russia launched its full-scale invasion more than three years ago have attempted to cut off the vital source of income to Moscow’s war effort. Germany is linked to the Druzhba pipeline, stretching thousands of kilometers, via Poland and Belarus.
The PCK refinery, close to the northeastern German town of Schwedt, is now served by Kazakh oil exports and is responsible for supplying the bulk of Germany’s fuel, according to Reuters. Russian oil deliveries through Schwedt ceased in January 2023. President Donald Trump’s apparent rapprochement with Moscow could change that.
Christophe Gateau/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
What To Know
Russian, German and U.S. authorities are discussing how to restart refinement of Russian oil from the Druzhba pipeline section in Germany, German investigative outlet Correctiv and independent Russian outlet iStories jointly reported on Wednesday.
U.S. firms would purchase a majority share in the Schwedt refinery, which is currently owned by the German subsidiary of Russian energy company, Rosneft, the outlets reported, citing anonymous sources familiar with the talks.
The German government, under outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz, took control of the Schwedt refinery in fall 2022. The talks to restart Russian production are being handled by the chancellor’s office and Berlin’s finance ministry, but have skirted away from involving the foreign ministry, the two outlets reported.
Dietmar Woidke, a politician with the country’s Social Democratic Party serving as Minister President of Brandenburg, the region covering Schwedt, backed a return to Russian oil at the refinery in comments to German media earlier this month.
In another development, the Financial Times reported at the start of March that U.S. investors were discussing starting Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline supplies to Europe, and that some Trump administration officials were aware of the discussions.
Germany’s economy ministry said at the time that it is not in talks with Russia over a “possible pipeline-based supply of Russian gas” through Nord Stream 2.
“Independence from Russian gas is of strategic importance to the German government in terms of security policy and it is sticking to it,” the ministry in a statement.
German newspaper Bild reported earlier this month that U.S. and Russian teams had held “secret talks” on turning back on Russian gas flow to Germany via Nord Stream 2.
Authorities across several countries had investigated a series of blasts that damaged Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines in fall 2022, and Danish teams said last year the pipelines had been “sabotaged.”
Germany is still investigating, and it is still not clear who was responsible for the damage. Sweden closed its investigation in February, 2024.
Kirill Dmitriev, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, told CNN earlier this month that increasing cooperation between Moscow and Washington could “include energy,” but did not elaborate further.
Earlier this week, Ukrainian forces attacked the Druzhba pipeline passing through Russia’s Oryol region, cutting off oil flows to Hungary. Hungary, while a NATO member, has maintained contact with Russia throughout its war in Ukraine and receives much of its oil imports from Russia via the Druzhba pipeline.
English