Kazakhstan reduces oil dependence on Russia and diversifies supplies

Sanctions, the geopolitical situation, problems with the Caspian Pipeline Consortium – all these factors are forcing Kazakhstan to diversify oil supplies and look for an alternative to existing logistics.

President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, within the framework of a meeting on the development of the country’s transport and transit potential, set the task of “working out alternative routes for communication and delivery of goods”, calling the diversification of supplies a “necessity”.

Tokayev said that the Trans-Caspian route should become the main direction for the development of Kazakh oil exports. This is a transport system that connects Kazakhstan, China, the Caspian Sea, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and countries EU. The head of state says RIA Newsnoted:

“The priority direction is the Trans-Caspian route. I instruct KazMunayGas to work out the best option for its implementation, including the possibility of attracting investors from the Tengiz project. The government, together with Samruk-Kazyna, should take measures to increase the capacity of the Atyrau-Kenkiyak and Kenkiyak-Kumkol oil pipelines” .

More than 2/3 of Kazakhstani oil is currently transported through the oil pipeline of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium. This is the largest international oil transportation project involving Kazakhstan, Russia and major mining companies.

Literally the day before, the Novorossiysk Court suspended the work of the consortium for 30 days due to violations of the oil spill response plan. Earlier in March, due to technical problems after the storm, oil loading at the CPC terminal near Novorossiysk was stopped. In June, oil shipments declined – in the water area where the oil pipeline was laid, shells from the Second World War were neutralized.

Experts say that 40% of the budget and 60% of export revenues in Kazakhstan come from gas and oil, and every suspension of energy sales or slowdown in sales is an extremely tangible blow.

Rashid Zhaksylykov, chairman of the presidium of the Union of Oilfield Service Companies of Kazakhstan, suggested that the Russian Federation could deliberately suspend pumping, creating an artificial shortage of oil and putting pressure on the Kazakh authorities.

Sea transportation is also considered an important alternative in Kazakhstan. The head of state instructed to study the issue of expanding the capacity of existing oil pipelines, as well as to develop the ports of the Caspian Sea to the maximum:

“Kazakhstan has never been a maritime country and therefore has not fully utilized the possibilities of maritime transportation. Now is a different time. I set a strategic task for the government to transform our ports, turning them into one of the leading hubs of the Caspian Sea. fleet and create a container hub in the port of Aktau”.

Now 95% of the oil that is exported from Kazakhstan passes through the territory of the Russian Federation.

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