Germany aims to find alternative to Russian oil within days

German Economic and Climate Change Minister Robert Habeck

Germany hopes to find a way within days to replace Russian oil with supplies from other sources, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Tuesday, adding that Germany could then cope with an EU embargo on Russian oil imports.

Under pressure to reduce its dependence on Russian energy, following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, Germany has previously said it could wean itself off of Russian oil by the end of the year. It has rejected, however, the idea of an immediate ban on imports to the European Union.

"Today I can say that an (oil) embargo has become manageable for Germany," Habeck told journalists during a visit to Poland for talks about energy security.

Before the war in Ukraine, Russian oil accounted for about a third of Germany's supply. A month ago, Habeck said that Germany had reduced its dependence on Russian oil to 25% of its imports.

On Tuesday he said that Russian oil now accounted for only 12% of Germany's supplyand went entirely to one refinery, the PCK refinery in Schwedt near Berlin. PCK is majority-owned and operated by Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft (ROSN.MM).

"The Schwedt business model is based on buying Russian oil. That is a bone of contention, we need an alternative for Schwedt, and we will be working on it in coming days," Habeck said.

Reporting by Markus Wacket and Marek Strzelecki; Writing by Madeline Chambers and Maria Sheahan; Editing by Thomas Escritt

REUTERS