BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 23. Loading operations at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) Marine Terminal have been temporarily suspended.
This was announced in a statement published by the Kazakhstan's Ministry of Energy.
"Loading operations at the CPC Marine Terminal have been temporarily suspended to ensure the safety of vessels, crews, and the environment in the Black Sea," the ministry said.
According to the ministry, all production and technical facilities of the consortium remain fully operational, are functioning normally, and are ready to resume crude oil loading immediately once the situation stabilizes.
The ministry noted that due to restrictions on crude oil intake into the pipeline system and to prevent the overfilling of storage facilities, oil-producing companies have made a controlled adjustment to daily production levels, resulting in a temporary reduction in oil output. It stressed that the measure is purely technological in nature and is aimed at ensuring the stability of production processes.
"The Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan remains in constant contact with the management of the CPC, major shippers, shipowners, and relevant government authorities. Continuous consultations are currently underway to develop solutions aimed at ensuring safe navigation conditions and the earliest possible resumption of stable exports of Kazakh oil to global markets," the ministry said.
The CPC is a major international oil transportation project involving Russia, Kazakhstan, and leading global energy companies. The system includes a 1,500-kilometer pipeline transporting crude oil primarily from Kazakhstan’s Tengiz, Karachaganak, and Kashagan fields, as well as from Russian producers.
About 80% of Kazakhstan’s oil exports are transported through the CPC system.
On July 20, 2026, while the tanker NELSA was loading crude oil at the CPC's SPM-1 single-point mooring facility (VPU-1), a drone struck the vessel's starboard side, causing a fire in its aft section. The incident occurred shortly after the CPC terminal resumed operations following another drone attack on July 19, which affected the civilian tankers ASIA and NISSOS IOS while they were loading crude oil.
