Kazakhstan Oil Output Halves Amid Black Sea Terminal Closure

Kazakhstan's oil production has taken a significant hit due to the closure of its main exporting terminal in Russia's Black Sea. The terminal was closed following drone attacks, which have escalated tensions between Ukraine and Russia.

The industry source reports that Kazakhstan's daily oil output has more than halved from 2.16 million barrels per day (bpd) in June to around 1 million bpd on Sunday. This decline is likely to add to global oil supply jitters, particularly with the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz and risks of passage over other main sea routes.

Kazakhstan's energy ministry confirmed that Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) loading operations had resumed, but did not comment on the output cuts. The CPC pipeline accounts for more than 80% of Kazakhstan's oil exports, which are operated by international oil majors such as Chevron and ExxonMobil.

Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has called for a freeze in the Ukraine conflict and resumption of talks between Russia and Ukraine. Speaking alongside Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Tokayev suggested that a peace deal might be reached if both sides froze the conflict and resumed negotiations.