Kazakhstan has been forced to halt the transportation of oil to its main export terminal on the Russian coast of the Black Sea due to a series of attacks on tankers that have jeopardized the exports of this landlocked Central Asian country. This is reported by Bloomberg, writes UNN.
Details
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal near the Russian port of Novorossiysk had to stop receiving oil via pipeline, as tanker companies are too afraid to send their vessels to this facility, two sources familiar with the situation said. The shutdown was supposed to begin on Tuesday, although it is currently unclear whether it has already started.
According to the interlocutors, oil-producing companies in Kazakhstan will also be forced to cut production if the suspension of oil pumping into the CPC system continues until the end of this week. The CPC press service declined to comment.
Kazakhstan's largest oil producer, Tengizchevroil, said it is monitoring the situation with loading operations at CPC facilities in Novorossiysk. The joint venture led by Chevron Corp. stated in a written response that production volumes and supplies to the CPC system "may be adjusted from time to time depending on operating conditions," but declined to comment on specific production volumes.
The disruptions come at a time when the oil market is already facing an almost complete halt in crude oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz amid a new escalation between the US and Iran, while Yemen's Houthis threaten Saudi Arabia's exports through the Red Sea.
The CPC terminal is by far the largest export route for Kazakh oil — about 80% of the country's total crude oil exports pass through it, mainly from projects implemented in partnership with international oil giants such as Chevron Corp., ExxonMobil Holdings Corp., and Shell Plc. Kazakhstan is the second-largest supplier of oil to Europe, and a reduction in its supplies will hit European refineries at a time when they are trying to replace supplies from the Persian Gulf.