Photo from kaztransoil.kz website
In July, Kazakhstan redirected part of its oil export flows amid disruptions to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC). The country's Ministry of Energy disclosed the shift to Interfax.
According to the ministry, some volumes were rerouted through other existing channels. Shipments along the Atyrau–Samara route rose, as did deliveries to China. Flows along the remaining routes stayed close to planned averages.
The reshuffle followed a wave of drone strikes on tankers near the CPC marine terminal at Novorossiysk.
Between July 17 and 20, the tankers NELSA, ASIA, NISSOS IOS and Nordic Zenith were hit. On July 20, the CPC suspended oil loading at the terminal, and later paused crude intake into the pipeline system altogether. The disruptions forced Kazakhstan to cut oil output.
On July 27, Kazakhstan's Ministry of Energy said shipments along the Tengiz–Novorossiysk route had resumed, but on July 30 the CPC halted loading again after an attack on the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker NISSOS SIFNOS. The vessel caught fire while taking on crude. The shipper was Tengizchevroil, the operator of the Tengiz field and a joint venture that includes Chevron.
The same day, the Isle of Man-flagged tanker MARATHI was attacked roughly six nautical miles from the terminal as it approached to load oil.
The CPC carries crude from Kazakhstan's largest fields — Tengiz, Kashagan and Karachaganak — and handles more than 80% of the country's oil exports.
Last week, Bloomberg, citing sources, reported that Ukraine had pledged to stop strikes on CPC infrastructure following talks with US officials. Kyiv has not publicly confirmed any such deal.
In 2025, about 70.5 million tons of oil moved through the CPC system, with volumes projected to reach 72 million tons in 2026. More than 75% of the throughput comes from foreign shippers, including Chevron, ExxonMobil, KazMunayGas, Eni and Shell.
Kazakhstan's Ministry of Energy also officially counts the Baku–Supsa oil pipeline — the Western Export Route to Georgia's Black Sea coast — as a backup export channel. Talks are underway with Azerbaijan on shipping up to 3 million tons of Kazakh crude a year along that line.
