Kazakhstan has halted oil exports via the Novorossiysk terminal for the third time this month — Reuters
Kazakhstan has once again suspended oil exports via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal in Novorossiysk, Russia, following drone strikes on ships. This marks the third time the terminal has been shut down in the past month.
According to the agency, on July 30, the terminal halted the loading of tankers after two vessels were struck in and near the port of Novorossiysk. Operations at the terminal were halted just two days after resuming, following a previous week-long suspension.
About 80% of Kazakhstan’s oil exports pass through the CPC. Previous shutdowns have already forced Kazakhstan to temporarily cut production, as alternative transportation routes have limited capacity.
According to CPC, the tankers Nissos Sifnos, flying the Marshall Islands flag, and Marathi, flying the Isle of Man flag, were damaged during the nighttime attack. A fire broke out on board the Nissos Sifnos while it was being loaded.
Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy confirmed the attacks but did not name the party responsible. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Unmanned Systems Forces reported that four Russian tankers had been struck in the Black and Azov Seas, without specifying their locations.
According to LSEG, at least five tankers heading for the CPC terminal changed course and set sail for Turkey or Spain, or entered a holding pattern awaiting new instructions.
Reuters notes that Kazakhstan accounts for about 2% of global oil supplies, with most of its exports going to European countries. The 1,510-km-long CPC pipeline is one of the longest in the world, and its largest shareholders are Russia’s Transneft, Kazakhstan’s KazMunayGas, and the U.S. company Chevron.
Alternative export routes via the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan and Turkey, or via pipelines to China, remain limited due to insufficient capacity.
This was reported by Reuters.
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