Home›Commodities›Energy›Drone attacks raise risk to Kazakhstan oil exports via…

Drone attacks raise risk to Kazakhstan oil exports via CPC pipeline

Kazakhstan’s exports are heavily concentrated through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which carries most crude output to Europe and Asia, leaving supply vulnerable if flows stop.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Energy

OilPrice reports that Kazakhstan, often seen as a potential beneficiary of Russia’s reduced access to global energy markets, has instead found itself exposed to similar risks, including attacks on export infrastructure and disruptions tied to failures at its largest fields.

The outlet points to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, or CPC, as a key driver of that vulnerability. The pipeline was designed after the Soviet collapse to move crude from western Kazakhstan’s Tengiz field and other producers to a Black Sea terminal near Novorossiysk.

According to OilPrice, CPC exports averaged about 1.7 million barrels per day over the last three months, including roughly 1.42 million b/d to Europe and about 280,000 b/d to Asian buyers. That level of concentration means CPC disruptions can quickly translate into lost export routes for Kazakhstan.

OilPrice adds that the pipeline’s role is central to Kazakhstan’s export capacity, noting that CPC carries around 80% of total Kazakh crude exports. In a crisis where CPC stops, Kazakhstan would lose most of its direct access to international markets.

Latest closeWTI crude $87.52 ▲3.1%

More like this

Sources