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Kazakhstan Seeks New Oil Export Routes Amid Black Sea Threats
10 Aug
Summary
- Kazakhstan is rerouting oil exports away from Russia's Novorossiysk terminal.
- New routes will utilize pipelines through Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey.
- Drone attacks on Russian infrastructure are causing export disruptions.
Kazakhstan is pursuing new oil export pathways to circumvent disruptions originating from the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. The Ministry of Energy announced that routes utilizing the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan system and shipments across the Caspian Sea through Azerbaijan are under consideration. Additional options include the Baku-Supsa route.
These re-routing initiatives aim to mitigate the severe impact of recent Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia's oil export infrastructure. In July, flows through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) faced multiple suspensions, disrupting crucial shipments. This reliance on the Novorossiysk terminal for the bulk of its crude oil exports, including those from fields operated by Chevron, exposes Kazakhstan's infrastructure vulnerabilities.
The CPC pipeline, which handles most of Kazakhstan's crude, has been targeted repeatedly. A recent week-long shutdown alone removed over 1 million barrels per day of Kazakh production from the market, exacerbating global oil supply concerns amidst existing pressures on shipping routes in the Black Sea and the Middle East.
