EditKazakhstan’s December oil exports sink after Ukraine drone strikes
The CPC terminal hit by Ukraine is the loading point for oil from Kazakhstan's fields operated by U.S. and European oil majors Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Eni and Shell
Kazakhstan’s exports of its flagship CPC Blend of oil will be their lowest in 14 months in December, as bad weather delays efforts to repair Russian loading infrastructure after Ukrainian drone strikes last month, two market sources said on Wednesday.
❗️– Footage from Turkish sailors on a ship in the Russian port of Novorosijsk of the drone attack on November 14
Novorosijsk is where the international CPC pipeline ends. It's also used for exports from Kazakhstan.
The attacks on it, have resulted in a 30% decline in Kazak… pic.twitter.com/P6Rekaxv5M
— Tony (@Cyberspec1) November 30, 2025
Ukraine has intensified attacks on Russian energy infrastructure in recent months as it seeks to cut Moscow’s revenues. On this occasion, the damage has disrupted oil sales from Kazakhstan as well as from Russia.
CPC Blend loadings will fall to 1.14 million barrels per day from 1.7 million bpd in the initial plan, the sources familiar with the loading programme said. That would be the lowest since October 2024, according to LSEG data.
On 29 November Ukrainian drones hit the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal located near Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, leaving just one out of three jetties operational and prolonging export delays. Poor weather has added to the difficulty of carrying out maintenance work necessary to allow exports to recover.
Kazakhstan issued a sharp rebuke on against Ukraine for the drone strike on the CPC marine terminal. Western official reactions were more subdued and indirect, with U.S. and European oil majors (e.g., Chevron, ExxonMobil, Eni, Shell), which operate Kazakh fields and hold stakes in the CPC, reportedly lobbying Kyiv to cease such strikes to protect their $27 billion annual interests.
Kazakhstan protests Ukraine’s drone attack on Caspian pipeline terminal in Novorossiysk
Oil majors rely on the CPC terminal to export Kazakh oil
The CPC Terminal is the loading point for oil from Kazakhstan’s fields operated by U.S. and European oil majors Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Eni and Shell.
A CPC representative declined to comment on the terminal’s operations and maintenance.
The cuts to loadings could be even deeper, depending on the progress of repairs at the CPC terminal, the sources added, asking not to be named because they were not authorised to speak publicly on the issue.
Since 29 November the terminal has operated with a single mooring point – SPM-1 – after SPM-2 was taken offline following the drone attack.
SPM-3 was already out of operation, since mid-November, for maintenance, which has been held up by bad weather.
As a result, a new round of cargo cancellations has been announced in recent days, three separate trade sources told Reuters.
The CPC Terminal loaded 26 cargoes with around 3.28 million metric tons, equivalent to 26 million barrels, of crude oil over the period 1-23 December, according to data from analytics firm Kpler.
“With only one operational SPM and storage tanks full, Kazakh production is having to moderate. Some buyers of CPC may have to cover, with the North Sea the only real prompt alternative, which has likely supported physical Brent recently,” Christopher Haines, Energy Aspects’ head of oil, said.
Global Brent oil futures prices rose by more than $1 a barrel in the immediate aftermath of the 29 November attack and supplies of CPC Blend have shrunk as the grade’s exporters have limited alternative shipment routes.
CPC plans CPC Blend crude exports in January at around 1.65 million bpd.
Exporters have been waiting for SPM-3 to come back online since early December and have had to adjust export plans multiple times and divert some volumes to other routes, including China and the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, one of the sources said.
Ukraine has also targeted tankers from Russia’s shadowy “shadow fleet” used to evade Western sanctions on oil exports, with reports indicating that only Turkey has formally protested these strikes due to risks to maritime traffic in its waters.
With Reuters, with additional reporting by g.g.
Caption: The CPC pipeline route until the Novorossiysk terminal and further routes to clients in Europe [Caspianpost.com]
Updated: December 25, 2025 - 12:38
