Delivery bottleneck: Schwedt fights for oil supply after pipeline attack!

Delivery bottleneck: Schwedt fights for oil supply after pipeline attack!

The effects of Russia's war in Ukraine on energy supplies are now also noticeable in Schwedt. The PCK refinery, which processes important petroleum resources, is currently experiencing supply bottlenecks. As rbb24 reports, one of the main causes for this is a Ukrainian drone attack on the Druzhba pipeline in Russia, which led to failures in the supply chain.

PCK managing director Harry Gnorski said that currently no oil from Kazakhstan can be delivered via this pipeline. The Druzhba pipeline has been a central oil transport system since Soviet times and supplies numerous countries in Eastern and Central Europe, including Hungary and Slovakia. The attack severely disrupted the supply through these canals, which also affected the operation of the refinery in Schwedt.

Supply bottlenecks and crude oil inventories

Despite the disruptions, the PCK refinery currently has enough supplies to last several days. However, Gnorski expects that oil from Kazakhstan could again reach Schwedt via the Druzhba pipeline from next week. Refinery utilization is stable at around 80 percent for the time being, but dependencies on supplies from Kazakhstan and other sources continue to be a risk that could affect security of supply in Germany and Europe.

Current political developments also have an impact on the situation. Hungary expects problems with oil deliveries for at least five days due to the pipeline attacks. Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto described the attack as a threat to energy security and asked for support from the EU. This shows how fragile the infrastructure and supply chain are in the current geopolitical situation, where Russian oil is no longer imported.

Long-term consequences and strategies

The war in Ukraine not only has short-term effects, but also poses long-term challenges for energy supply in Germany. A current impulse paper from acatech highlights that Germany and the EU are facing a complex situation, particularly due to their dependence on individual importing countries. A loss of Russian energy imports could have serious consequences for security of supply.

In order to overcome such challenges in the future, measures to expand and operate the energy infrastructure as well as a common European purchasing policy for natural gas are urgently needed. Reducing dependence on Russian energy supplies remains a key demand, particularly with a view to maintaining industrial competitiveness and the long-term stability of energy prices in Europe.

In this context, the recent attacks on the Druzhba pipeline are an alarming indication of the existing insecurity in the energy sector and the need to develop more comprehensive strategies to secure energy supplies in Europe.