CPC remains reliable route for oil transportation from Kazakhstan - deputy director

ATYRAU. April 5 (Interfax) - The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) remains one of the most best and reliable routes for transporting oil from Kazakhstan, CPC Deputy General Director for Liaison with the Kazakh Government Kairgeldy Kabyldin said.

"It is up to CPC shareholders and consignors to decide how to transport crude to buyers. The international consortium, which was established a quarter of a century ago to bolster global energy security, has been successfully operating outside of the political context, and does not comment on politics," Kabyldin said at a press conference in Atyrau.

The CPC currently provides the main route for Kazakh oil exports. It accounts for over 80% of pipeline supplies. The pipeline has an annual capacity of 67 million tonnes.

Kazakhstan started considering diversification of oil export routes in 2022, following a series of incidents that suspended oil transportation by the CPC.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev tasked respective agencies with developing a trans-Caspian route for oil transportation. The Kazakh Energy Ministry is expecting to boost the capacity of the trans-Caspian international transport route from 6.5 million tonnes of crude in 2023 to 15 million tonnes in 2025.

The CPC pipeline connects oil fields in western Kazakhstan and Russian fields on the Caspian shelf to a Novorossiysk port terminal. The 1,511-kilometer pipeline provided transportation and shipment for 58.7 million tonnes of exported oil in 2022, down 3.3% from 2021.

CPC's shareholders are Russia with 31% as represented by Transneft with 24% and CPC Company with 7%, Kazakhstan with 20.75% as represented by KazMunayGas with 19% and Kazakhstan Pipeline Ventures LLC with 1.75%, Chevron Caspian Pipeline Consortium Company with 15%, Lukarco B.V. with 12.5%, Mobil Caspian Pipeline Company with 7.5%, Rosneft-Shell Caspian Ventures Limited with 7.5%, BG Overseas Holding Limited with 2%, Eni International N.A. N.V. with 2%, and Oryx Caspian Pipeline LLC with 1.75%.