The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) has suspended oil exports from its Black Sea terminal due to severe weather conditions. The terminal is also halting oil intake as reservoirs are full until conditions improve. This disruption follows a Ukrainian drone attack on November 29, which has already constrained loading operations at the terminal near Novorossiysk, critical for Kazakhstan’s oil exports.
As a result of these bottlenecks, Kazakhstan’s oil production has declined this month, with December exports of the CPC Blend expected to be the lowest in 14 months. Reports indicate that oil exports from Kazakhstan through the terminal have dropped 19% in December compared to November, averaging 1.082 million barrels per day.
Currently, the CPC terminal is operating with only one mooring point, SPM-1, after SPM-2 was damaged in the drone attack and SPM-3 has been offline for maintenance. The CPC noted that the pace of oil shipments has been significantly impacted by the attack and ongoing repair work, compounded by harsh winter weather conditions.
