Berlin’s goal is to find new oil suppliers and solve logistical problems within six to seven months
Germany plans to cut Russian oil imports by the end of the year, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter. Whether or not the EU reaches an agreement on Russia’s oil embargo will apparently be taken.
The German chancellor’s office is now in talks with alternative suppliers and Berlin is confident it will be able to resolve all remaining issues within six to seven months, according to Bloomberg. Sources did not say which countries could replace Russian oil supplies to Germany.
Before the start of Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine, 35% of Germany’s oil imports came from Russia. Since the start of the conflict, Berlin has reduced this number by 12%.
The news agency said Germany’s biggest challenge would be to provide a key refinery, currently dependent solely on Russian imports. The Schwedt facility supplies fuel to most filling stations in the capital, as well as to the neighboring state of Brandenburg and the city’s international airport.
German authorities are reportedly planning to use an old pipeline to link the Schwartz refinery to the northern port city of Rostock, but this will require an infrastructure upgrade, which is currently only capable of meeting 60% of the facility’s needs. Oil roast could be supplied from another port, a national reserve near Wilhelmshaven.
Berlin will see a Bavarian refinery to meet the energy demand at the airport, which the government is considering as an alternative route.
Earlier, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck warned that cutting off oil supplies from Russia as part of a European Union-wide embargo could lead to a shortage of petrol in eastern Germany.
On Sunday, regional environment ministers suggested introducing a motorway speed limit “Limited Term” As a way to reduce fuel consumption and dependence on Russian imports. Germany is one of the few countries where there are no such borders
Meanwhile, the EU is still debating the next round of anti-Russian sanctions. On Friday, several media outlets reported that the embargo was unlikely to be included due to Hungary’s resistance.
On Saturday, the European Commission agreed to a plan that would allow companies to buy Russian natural gas without violating sanctions. According to Bloomberg, European companies will technically be able to open euro or dollar accounts at Russia’s Gazprom Bank and pay in euros or dollars that will later be converted into rubles, as requested by Moscow.
Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, following Kiev’s failure to implement the terms of the first Minsk agreement signed in 2014 and the final recognition of Moscow’s Donetsk and Lugansk’s Donbas republics. The German- and French-brokerage protocols were designed to give special status to isolated territories within the Ukrainian state.
The Kremlin has since demanded that Ukraine formally declare itself a neutral state that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kyiv has insisted that the Russian invasion was completely unpopular and has denied claims that it is planning to forcibly retake the two republics.
