Ukraine has halted attacks on the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk following a request from US Vice President James David Vance to Kiev late last month, the Financial Times reported, citing Ukrainian officials, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
According to the publication, concerns have arisen in Washington that Kiev is further destabilizing oil markets and harming US companies by attacking oil tankers carrying crude oil coming via a pipeline from Kazakhstan that feeds the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal in the Russian port.
The information cannot be independently verified.
Drone attacks in the Black Sea have reduced oil exports by up to a fifth via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) in July, Reuters reported, citing four informed sources. Disruptions linked to the war between Russia and Ukraine have affected sales to Kazakhstan and Western oil companies, BTA reported.
Loading volumes via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) have fallen by up to a fifth in July, Reuters reported, citing four informed sources. were more than 20 percent below the July target, reaching about 1.2-1.3 million barrels per day after drone attacks near the Black Sea export terminal disrupted supplies, the sources said.
The pipeline carries crude oil from Kazakhstan to Russia's Black Sea terminal in Novorossiysk and provides about 1.8 percent of global oil supplies. The disruptions add to supply concerns at a time when markets are already closely monitoring risks related to the conflict in the Middle East.
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal has been repeatedly disrupted since mid-July. Oil loading was halted again on Friday morning after briefly resuming on Thursday, two sources said.
According to data from analyst firm Kpler, (Kpler) and two sources said that loadings of Kazakhstan's CPC Blend crude have averaged about 1.1-1.2 million barrels per day since the beginning of August. This suggests that exports remain below even the reduced July level amid ongoing disruptions.
Kazakhstan, which relies heavily on the pipeline route to export its oil, reported a 14 percent drop in output in July compared to June, according to the sources. Among the major Western oil companies operating in Kazakhstan are “Chevron“ and “ExxonMobil“ (ExxonMobil).
The Russian Foreign Ministry said Ukrainian forces had attacked oil tankers during loading operations at the pipeline terminal and accused Kiev of trying to destabilize global oil markets.
Ukraine has stepped up its strikes on Russian energy infrastructure but has not claimed responsibility or commented on the drone attacks on facilities that process mostly Kazakh oil.
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium declined to comment on loading volumes in July and August and has not made a public statement about the recent disruptions.
Kazakhstan has few alternative export routes that can replace the pipeline's volumes - typically around 1.5-1.7 million barrels per day, making it key to the country's oil sector and revenues.