BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 29. Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Yermek Kosherbayev and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the situation surrounding the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) during a telephone conversation.
This was reflected in a statement by the press service of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan.
The two sides covered key issues on the bilateral agenda within the
framework of the Enhanced Strategic Partnership, as well as
preparations for the upcoming visit of the President of the
Republic of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, to the United States
to participate in the G20 Summit.
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.
