Akkenzhenov handed the request to the Russian side in person, Interfax reported. "We have such a technical possibility, we are waiting for an answer from the Russian side," he said at a press conference in Astana.
Russia stopped letting Kazakh oil through that route to Germany on May 1. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak attributed the decision at the time to "technical possibilities as of today," and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov cited "technical issues." Novak later named attacks on oil pipeline infrastructure as one of the reasons.
Akkenzhenov himself said in April, citing unofficial data, that the halt could be linked to strikes on Russian infrastructure. He said he had received no official explanation from Moscow at the time.
The route is a small one for Kazakhstan: 2.1 million tonnes of oil went to Germany via Druzhba in 2025. About 3 million tonnes were planned for 2026, but the republic had shipped only 1.02 million tonnes before the transit halt. Kazakhstan redirected the lost volumes to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium and the port of Ust-Luga.
For Germany the losses are more sensitive. Kazakh oil covered 20-30% of the needs of the Schwedt refinery, which produces about 90% of the gasoline, aviation kerosene and diesel for Berlin and Brandenburg, including aviation fuel for Berlin's airport. Germany's Economy Ministry said in the spring that there was no threat to the country's supply, but that the plant would have to operate at lower capacity.
A controlling stake in the refinery belongs to German subsidiaries of Rosneft. Since 2022 they have been under the external management of Germany's Federal Network Agency, and in late February the Economy Ministry placed that management on a long-term footing. In late March Rosneft challenged the decision in court.