Oil terminal of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium. Photo: cpc.ru.
Kazakhstan’s oil exports from the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk fell sharply in January due to poor weather, maintenance on offshore loading facilities, and damage caused by drone attacks, Bloomberg reports.
According to traders, shipments of CPC Blend this month are expected to total 800,000–900,000 barrels per day—about 45 percent below the loading volumes anticipated in mid-December.
Of the originally planned 45 cargoes, at least 21 shipments have been canceled. The supply shortfall has already pushed prices higher: for the first time in a year, Kazakh crude is trading at a premium. Recent deals were concluded at a markup of about $1.20 per barrel to Dated Brent.
Bloomberg notes that the decline in exports stems from ongoing disruptions at the terminal. In recent weeks, loadings have been repeatedly suspended because of adverse weather conditions, delaying the return to service of a second offshore loading point after maintenance. In addition, another loading facility was damaged by Ukrainian drones in late November. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan needs at least two operational CPC berths to maintain export volumes.
Sources say the CPC pipeline system has again stopped accepting crude from producers, as storage tanks are full.
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium accounts for roughly 80 percent of Kazakhstan’s oil exports, including shipments from major producers such as Chevron, Exxon Mobil, and Shell. The country produces about 1.8 million barrels per day in total. Without the CPC operating at full capacity, Kazakhstan can export only about half that volume via alternative routes, and a prolonged outage could force production cuts at oil fields.
