Kazakhstan halts 1.6m bpd oil exports after Black Sea drone attacks
Kazakhstan has suspended the bulk of its crude exports after a wave of drone attacks on Black Sea tankers rendered its primary shipping route too risky for commercial vessels, threatening further strain on global oil supply.
Kazakhstan has stopped piping crude to the Russian port of Novorossiysk, effectively halting the vast majority of its seaborne oil exports. The suspension, set to take effect later on Tuesday, comes after tanker companies refused to send vessels to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal following a spate of drone strikes.
The decision followed a specific strike on the tanker Nelsa, which forced a second shutdown after loading operations had briefly resumed. Earlier on Sunday, the tankers Asia and Nissos IOS came under attack near the terminal. The Asia tanker suffered an onboard fire after being struck on the starboard side, but emergency crews extinguished the flames and evacuated the crew of 22 using CPC tugboats.
CPC confirmed that "Oil loading operations were suspended. No oil spill occurred and no ignition of oil in the cargo tanks was allowed."
For global markets, the disruption removes roughly 1.6 million barrels per day of crude from the market. This represents the overwhelming majority of Kazakhstan's total 2.1 million barrels per day of export capacity. Because Kazakhstan is landlocked, the 930-mile CPC pipeline serves as its primary and most vital outlet to international buyers, though it also transports some Russian crude.
The incident underscores the mounting physical risks facing energy infrastructure in the Black Sea region. Russia's own oil refining output has already plummeted to its lowest level in more than two decades due to sustained Ukrainian drone attacks on domestic energy sites. The CPC terminal was previously forced offline by a similar strike in November 2025, demonstrating a pattern of recurring disruptions to a major global oil conduit.
The disruption has also sparked a diplomatic clash. Kazakhstan's foreign ministry condemned the attack and warned it reserves the right to seek full compensation under international law for the damage caused. The Kremlin accused Ukraine of deliberately targeting global energy stability, with Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stating the strikes confirm "Bankova's desire to further destabilize the situation on global oil markets."
