Page 7 - EurOil Week 34 2022

EurOil PIPELINES & TRANSPORT EurOil

Kazakhstan’s oil exports via Russia

disrupted for fourth time this year

KAZAKHSTAN FRESH speculation that the Kremlin is tamper- as the reason for the suspension of oil loadings at
ing with Kazakhstan’s oil exports has arisen with two of the three single mooring points (SPMs)
Kazakh authorities are an announcement that shipments of flows from at the Novorossijsk terminal. It said the damage
taking steps to diversify the CPC pipeline have been disrupted for the may have been caused by “exceptionally difficult
their oil exports. fourth time this year. weather conditions” last winter.
Reuters reported on August 23 that the dis- The three disruptions to oil shipments from
ruption at the pipeline terminus in Novorossijsk Novorossijsk that preceded this latest one
on Russia’s Black Sea coast could run to at least a involved the shutting down of two SPMs due to
month but added that, in the meantime, one of alleged storm damage in March; export suspen-
the facility’s three export berths still functional sion attributed to mine-clearing operations on
would work in “intensive mode” and continue the seabed in June; and alleged oil spill concerns
to transfer 60-70% of total capacity. that led to a Russian court ordering CPC to halt
Kazakhstan is dependent on the CPC pipe- shipments for 30 days. The court order was, how-
line—run by the Caspian Pipeline Consor- ever, quickly reversed on appeal and never came
tium—for the export of around four-fifths of its into force.
crude oil. There continues to be a lot of indus- The latest CPC disruption comes amid Rus-
try talk that post-Soviet Kazakhstan, which has sia’s plans to close down the Nord Stream gas
stopped well short of expressing any support for pipeline for three days between August 31 and
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is being taught a September 2, in a move that will put further
‘who’s boss’ lesson by Moscow, which can also strain on the European gas market.
exert control over the Novorossijsk export plat-
forms as part of a manipulation of world oil ‘Cracks in hoses’
markets, should it so wish. The terminal handles Russia’s TASS news agency reported that while
about 1% of global oil supply. performing scheduled maintenance on the two
CPC reported damage at “the attachment closed SPMs, divers discovered cracks in subsea
points of underwater sleeves to buoyancy tanks” hose attachments to buoyancy tanks. CPC said

Week 34 26•August•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P7