Image by Uladzislau Petrushkevich via Unsplash
Kazakhstan’s oil output has surged to an all-time high even as the country faces a reduction in export capacity following damage to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), its primary route through Russia, industry insiders revealed on Thursday to Reuters.
On February 19, the country’s combined crude oil and gas condensate production reached approximately 2.12 million barrels per day (bpd), sources familiar with the figures confirmed. This comes despite Moscow’s recent statement that CPC’s operational capacity had declined by 30-40% after being targeted by Ukrainian drone strikes.
It remains unclear how Kazakhstan managed to push production to record levels given that export capacity is typically a limiting factor. The country depends on the CPC pipeline for over 80% of its oil exports and has limited alternative transportation routes. The pipeline, spanning more than 1,500 kilometers (939 miles), transports crude from Kazakhstan’s massive Tengiz oilfield near the northeastern Caspian Sea, as well as from Russian producers.
The February production increase was largely attributed to heightened activity at the Tengiz oilfield, where Tengizchevroil – a joint venture led by Chevron – is in the midst of a $48 billion expansion. Output from Tengiz climbed to over 920,000 bpd on February 19, rising from around 900,000 bpd earlier in the month and significantly surpassing January’s average of 640,000 bpd.
Russian President Vladimir Putin commented on the pipeline disruption, warning that the damage could have global market repercussions. He also noted that repairing the facility would be difficult due to its reliance on Western-manufactured equipment. A reduction of 30-40% in CPC’s flow equates to a loss of approximately 500,000-680,000 bpd, according to estimates.
Kazakhstan’s energy ministry stated on Tuesday that the country continues to supply oil without any imposed restrictions but has yet to respond to inquiries regarding the implications of its record production.
The CPC pipeline’s shareholder group includes U.S. energy giants Chevron and ExxonMobil, Russia’s Lukoil, the Kazakh state-owned KazMunayGas, and the Russian state.