Kazakhstan to start direct oil shipments to China after Ukraine's strikes on Novorossiysk
Illustrative photo: Kazakhstan to supply China with 50,000 tons of oil (Getty Images)
Kazakhstan will begin supplying oil directly to China for the first time, bypassing Russian pipelines. Until now, Kazakhstan has relied on Russian infrastructure for its oil deliveries, Reuters reports.
According to the report, 50,000 tonnes of crude will be shipped directly from the Kashagan field to China. This will be the first delivery since a Ukrainian drone damaged the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal.
"The CPC, which accounts for 1% of global crude supply and includes Russian, Kazakh, and US shareholders, has had to reduce exports because a key part of its loading infrastructure - a single-point mooring (SPM) - was damaged in the attack. Currently, CPC is using just one of three SPMs," the report said.
Kazakhstan plans to transport Kashagan oil to China through the Atasu–Alashankou pipeline. Notably, the oil is produced by the international NCOC consortium, which includes China's CNPC. It will ship 30,000 tons of oil, while another 20,000 tons will be supplied by a Japanese company from the consortium's warehouse.
Kazakhstan's Ministry of Energy confirmed efforts to secure additional routes for Caspian oil, particularly from the Kashagan field.
"The incident at CPC's marine terminal did not lead to a complete halt in exports... The ministry, together with producers, is working to redistribute volumes and intensify the use of alternative routes," the statement said.
On November 30, Kazakhstan urged Ukraine to stop its attacks on the Black Sea oil terminal in Novorossiysk. A day earlier, on November 29, it was reported that Ukrainian naval drones had attacked and completely disabled one of the CPC terminal's mooring points in Novorossiysk.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said it had taken Kazakhstan's concerns into account, but reminded Astana that it had never condemned Russian strikes on Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure.
