CPC again raises forecast for pumping oil in 2023 from 62 mln tonnes to 63.5 mln tonnes, rise of 8.2% from previous year

MOSCOW. Sept 15 (Interfax) - Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) forecasts that 63.5 million tonnes of oil will be pumped through its system in 2023, CPC head Nikolai Gorban said during an interview with Astrakhan's Lotos TV channel of the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (GTRK).

"The years of the pandemic and so on have not given us a large increase [in pumping oil], but we forecast that it should be somewhere around 63.5 million tonnes this year, which is already a substantial increase," Gorban said.

During an interview with Atameken Business TV in early August, Gorban had said that the projected volume for pumping oil was 61-62 million tonnes in 2023, while the forecast had varied at 60-61 million tonnes in mid-June.

CPC shipped 58.7 million tonnes of oil for export in 2022, implying that CPC could boost pumping 8.2% year-on-year in 2023.

During the interview with GTRK, Gorban noted that Kazakhstan currently pumps about 75% of its exported oil via the CPC system, and the percentage ratio of Kazakh and Russian oil in CPC Blend is 80/20.

Gorban reemphasized that the consortium has no concerns about Kazakhstan's search for alternative oil transportation routes.

"Every consignor of goods, every country, has the right to consider options that it believes would be beneficial or in demand, and so on, so we relate to this calmly. It is not yet entirely possible to redirect the volumes that pass through us via alternative routes. (...) We have long-term contracts with consignors, and we understand the prospects for next year and subsequent years, so I think that there should be plenty of work for our share," Gorban summarized.