Loadings of crude oil from Chevron’s project in Kazakhstan continue at the CPC terminal at the Russian port of Novorossiysk on the Black Sea, the U.S. supermajor told Reuters after a Ukrainian attack damaged CPC infrastructure this weekend.
Chevron holds 50% in Tengizchevroil, the company operating the huge Tengiz field in Kazakhstan, whose exports go through the CPC pipeline to Novorossiysk.
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) operates the pipeline from the Caspian coast in northwest Kazakhstan to the Novorossiysk port, which handles most of Kazakhstan’s crude exports from giant oilfields in Kazakhstan operated by international oil firms, including U.S. supermajor Chevron. CPC transports crude oil from three major fields in Kazakhstan, Tengiz, Kashagan, and Karachaganak, in which major western companies have stakes, including Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, and Eni.
Affiliates of Chevron and ExxonMobil are also minority shareholders in CPC, with the Russian Federation as its largest shareholder with a 24% stake.
This weekend, CPC said that “following an intended terror attack of drone boats in the CPC Marine Terminal waters, CPC Single Point Mooring SPM-2 received significant damages.”
CPC has three single point moorings, of which one was damaged this weekend and another one has been offline for repairs since the middle of November.
On Saturday, CPC said that “Further SPM-2 operation is impossible. Offloading operations at the terminal will proceed in line with the established rules as the drone boat and flying drone threat is lifted.”
CPC also said “We believe that the attack on CPC is an attack on the interests of CPC Member States. We shall highlight that this is the third act of aggression against a purely civil asset under protection of the international law.”
“All CPC Shareholders and Governments of CPC Member States acknowledge an important role of the Consortium in ensuring the global energy security and meeting the economic interests of the Member States,” the consortium said.
On Sunday, Kazakhstan’s foreign ministry expressed “its protest over yet another deliberate attack on the critical infrastructure of the international Caspian Pipeline Consortium in the waters of the Port of Novorossiysk.”
“We view what has occurred as an action harming the bilateral relations of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Ukraine, and we expect the Ukrainian side to take effective measures to prevent similar incidents in the future,” Kazakhstan said.
Ukraine, for its part, responded that the attack was not directed at Kazakhstan or third parties and is part of Ukraine’s efforts to repel the full-scale Russian aggression.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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