Merz said Germany is interested in Kazakh oil

As RBC reports, Merz said at a joint press conference with Tokayev that Berlin wants to continue discussing energy supply issues. According to him, Germany seeks to receive oil from Kazakhstan as a substitute for what it no longer receives from Russia, and is pursuing diversification of supply chains.

The German chancellor also called Kazakhstan Germany’s most important trading partner in Central Asia. In an article for the German newspaper Handelsblatt, Tokayev wrote that Kazakhstan has established itself as a reliable and stable supplier of energy resources to Europe.

According to Tokayev, Kazakhstan provides about 13% of the EU’s oil imports and 20% of natural uranium supplies. He said that in 2025 the volume of Kazakh oil supplies to Germany exceeded 10 million tonnes, and stated that Astana is ready to continue fulfilling this mission, taking into account the available transport capabilities.

Reuters previously wrote that one of Germany’s largest refineries — the plant in Schwedt — is partially supplied with oil from Kazakhstan. In April, TASS, citing Kazakhstan’s Energy Minister Erlan Akkenzhenov, reported that Astana had received unofficial information about the impossibility of transiting oil through the Druzhba pipeline from Kazakhstan to Germany.

Later, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the decision was related to technical issues. He also claimed that Astana’s interests would be fully respected, and that the necessary supply volumes would be ensured through alternative transport corridors.