Germany's import ban on oil from Russian pipelines will be taking effect as of Sunday as Berlin speeds up its effort to wean itself off Moscow's exports due to the war on Ukraine.

An EU embargo on Russian crude oil, transported by sea, has been in place since Dec. 5, but an exception was made for oil transported by pipeline. However, Germany and Poland pledged to avoid making use of these exceptions and halt the use of oil coming through the Druzhba pipeline from Jan. 1.

This measure, that comes into effect with the start of 2023, affects major refineries located in Schwedt, in the state of Brandenburg and Leuna, and in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, which supply eastern Germany with fuel. Both spent decades processing Russian crude oil from the Druzhba pipeline and will now need to switch to other sources of supply. However, supplies are secure, according to the government and the oil industry amid fears that the war might lead to energy shortfalls.

The PCK refinery in Schwedt said more than 1 billion tons of crude oil flowed from Russia via the pipeline to the former East Germany, with the pipeline dating back to the early 1960s.

Carsten Schneider, the government representative in charge of issues that affect former East German states, said he saw the import ban on Russian pipeline oil as an opportunity. There would be additional public investments of more than 1 billion euros ($1.07 billion) for the transformation of the affected locations. "We are thus freeing eastern Germany from dependence on Russia and completing another piece of German unity," he told Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).

Replacement oil is now to come partly via the port of Rostock, partially via the Polish port of Gdansk and from Kazakhstan.

Both the Schwedt and Leuna refineries expect a lower utilization rate in the beginning compared to before. So far, oil volumes that have been contractually assured have not yet been sufficient, said Mitteldeutsche Raffinerie Leuna recently. PCK had predicted a utilization rate of 70%.