Kazakhstan cuts oil output after strikes on CPC terminal

Kazakh oil companies have cut crude output after loading operations at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) marine terminal were suspended following suspected Ukrainian drone attacks on tankers.

IMAGE: A crude oil barrel and pumpjack with the Kazakh flag in the background. Getty Images

Loading operations at the CPC's Black Sea terminal have been temporarily suspended to ensure the safety of vessels, crews and the environment, Kazakhstan's Ministry of Energy said on social media platform Telegram.

The consortium's facilities remain operational, it said. The suspension followed suspected Ukrainian drone strikes on tankers there on 17, 19 and 20 July, Reuters reported. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility.

The energy ministry did not disclose the magnitude of the production rollbacks.

The CPC operates a 1,510 km oil pipeline connecting Kazakhstan's Caspian Sea oil deposits with Russia's ⁠Black Sea ​port of Novorossiysk. Oil loaded at ​Novorossiysk is then taken by tanker to world markets. The CPC accounts for about 80% of ​Kazakhstan’s oil exports, according to Reuters.

“Due to restrictions on crude oil intake into the pipeline system and in order to prevent storage tank congestion at oil-producing companies, a controlled adjustment of daily production levels was implemented resulting in a temporary reduction in oil output,” the ministry said in comments reported by Reuters.

CPC transports oil from three major oilfields in Kazakhstan – Tengiz, Kashagan and Karachaganak. Its pipeline handles about 2% of daily global crude supply, according to Reuters.

The latest disruption to the route – the fifth attack on CPC facilities since November 2025 – adds to pressure on a market already contending with the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz and a Houthi blockade threatening Saudi crude exports from Yanbu via the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

By Aparupa Mazumder

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