Kazakhstan cuts oil output after drone attacks on Black Sea terminal

Kazakhstan temporarily reduced crude oil production after the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) halted loadings at its Novorossiysk terminal following attacks on tankers. The Energy Ministry said it was a technical decision to prevent storage tanks from overflowing.

Scraper SystemJuly 23, 2026, 10:11 PM

Kazakhstan cuts oil output after drone attacks on Black Sea terminal

Kazakhstan has reduced crude oil production following drone attacks on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which operates at Russia's Novorossiysk port on the Black Sea coast. The country's Energy Ministry announced that oil companies adjusted their daily output, leading to a temporary decline.

The ministry stated that the decision was 'purely technical' and was taken to prevent storage tanks from overflowing after CPC restricted oil shipments. According to a Reuters report citing industry sources, the terminal's oil storage tanks reached capacity this week.

Loadings halted, production adjusted

CPC suspended loadings at its Black Sea terminal on Monday after drone attacks on tankers. Reuters reported that at least five tankers have been attacked at the CPC terminal throughout July. Neither CPC nor Kazakh officials have attributed the attacks to any party.

Russian officials accused Ukraine of carrying out the attacks, alleging that Kyiv is trying to disrupt global oil markets. Ukrainian officials did not comment on the attacks. Kazakhstan's foreign ministry condemned the attacks in a statement on Sunday.

Kazakhstan's Energy Ministry noted that loadings at CPC were halted 'to ensure the safety of ships, crew and the environment in the Black Sea,' but that production and technical facilities are 'fully intact and operational.' The ministry said operations will resume as soon as conditions return to normal. It did not disclose the extent of the production cut or when loading operations would resume.

Kazakhstan's main oil export pipeline

The CPC is a 1,510-kilometer oil pipeline connecting Kazakhstan's Caspian oil fields to the port of Novorossiysk. The consortium, which includes Chevron and ExxonMobil as shareholders, handles about 80 percent of Kazakhstan's oil exports. Oil loaded at Novorossiysk is transported to international markets via tankers.

Kazakhstan cuts oil output after drone attacks on Black Sea terminal