Kazakhstan rushes to reroute oil exports after strikes cripple Russia's Novorossiysk port
Illustrative photo: Novorossiysk oil terminals struck for the second time (Getty Images)
Kazakhstan began urgently looking for alternative routes for its oil exports after another strike by the Ukrainian Defense Forces on Novorossiysk early on November 29. Kazakh crude currently transits through Russia's Novorossiysk port, according to Russian media and the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The ministry said that, due to an "extraordinary incident in the waters of the Novorossiysk port," it was forced to announce the redirection of export volumes to alternative routes.
Officials confirmed that unmanned surface vessels struck marine infrastructure belonging to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC). The attack disabled the SPM-2 single-point mooring unit, which sustained significant damage. The unit will remain offline until full repair and restoration work is completed.
"To minimize negative consequences and maintain production levels at major fields, the ministry has urgently activated a plan to reroute export volumes to alternative routes," the statement said.
According to Russian media, oil from three large Kazakh fields — Tengiz, Kashagan, and Karachaganak — is transported through pipelines owned by the CPC. Total oil exports through CPC facilities reached 4.2 million tons in 2024.
On the morning of November 29, it became known that naval drones attacked and fully disabled a loading unit at the CPC marine terminal in Novorossiysk. The facility sustained heavy damage, and oil loading has been suspended.
A day earlier, on the evening of November 28, explosions hit two tankers near the Bosporus in the Black Sea. The vessels Kairos and Virat, part of Russia's shadow fleet, were ignited by the blasts. It was later confirmed that the strikes were conducted by Sea Baby naval drones operated by Ukraine's Security Service (SBU).
