Kazmortransflot, the national sea carrier of Kazakhstan, expects to purchase two oil tankers for transportation in the Caspian Sea by the end of 2023, increasing its Caspian fleet to five ships. This route is used to supply oil bypassing Russia through Azerbaijan, Kommersant writes.
The main alternative supply route now is the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, to which Kazakh oil is transported via the Caspian Sea. This year, Kazmunaigas plans to send 1.5 million tons of oil from the Tengiz field via the BTC; in March, Kazakhstan shipped 20 thousand tons, in April they should increase to 125 thousand tons.
Sources told the newspaper that the government of Kazakhstan is considering a significant increase in supplies through it to 20 million tons annually. However, increasing supplies requires significant investment – in particular, in expanding the port of Aktau, deepening the bottom of the Caspian Sea for larger tankers, and increasing the capacity of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline itself. The interlocutors of the publication estimated the estimated costs at “several tens of billions of dollars.”
Currently, 80% of Kazakh oil exports go through Russia. However, in 2022, deliveries were repeatedly suspended due to repairs on Russian territory, which caused the authorities of Kazakhstan to search for alternative routes.
Source: Rosbalt
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