BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 5. Kazakhstan has significantly diversified its oil export routes in recent years in response to growing geopolitical uncertainty, according to a recent report by Teniz Capital Investment Banking, Trend reports.
Between 2020 and 2025, the country has actively pursued alternative transit corridors to reduce reliance on traditional routes and enhance the resilience of its energy export system. The report highlights that in 2022–2023, disruptions at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal and the impact of international sanctions accelerated Kazakhstan’s efforts to develop the Middle Corridor – a key transit route across the Caspian Sea and the South Caucasus.
As part of this shift, Kazakhstan signed an agreement with Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR for the transit of 1.5 million tonnes of oil per year via the Aktau–Baku–BTC (Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan) route. Discussions are ongoing to expand volumes to 2.2 million tons in 2025, with long-term prospects of increasing flows to 5-7 million tons annually.
At the same time, Kazakhstan has maintained and strengthened its eastern export options. In parallel to westward diversification, the country extended its agreement with Russia on the transit of Russian crude to China, securing an annual volume of 10 million tonnes through 2033, with the possibility of further increases.
Over the past two decades, Kazakhstan has built a flexible and multi-vector pipeline infrastructure that supports oil exports both westward (via Russia and Azerbaijan) and eastward (to China). This evolving network has not only improved the country’s capacity to manage external risks but has also enhanced the strategic importance of its energy transit system.
