Ukrainian drones attacked a pumping station of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) in the Krasnodar region. The CPC, however, primarily transports Kazakh oil, not Russian oil and has international shareholders, including US and European companies, such as Chevron and Eni.
Chevron, a US-based company, stated that it is aware of the attack and is monitoring the situation, as the CPC is a key route for oil exports from Kazakhstan to the global market, affecting the energy security of many countries.
Russian President Vladimir Putin described the CPC as an international organization and the oil flowing through the pipeline is mainly owned by foreign shareholders under production-sharing agreements. Representatives of these companies are involved in assessing the damage and planning the repair and restoration of the facility, Putin added.
The CPC is a 1,500-kilometer pipeline system connecting oil fields in western Kazakhstan to a seaport in Novorossiysk, from where the oil is shipped to customers. Up to 90% of Kazakhstan’s oil exports are transported through this route.
Despite the attack, the CPC managed to maintain oil transportation, albeit with reduced pumping volumes and by bypassing the damaged Kropotkinskaya pumping station.
The repair of the damaged station is expected to take at least one and a half to two months, according to Transneft, the largest CPC shareholder. The temporary shutdown of the station may lead to a 30% reduction in Kazakhstan’s oil exports, the CPC warned.
Experts believe that the attack was poorly planned, as the CPC is an international project with US and European shareholders and the targeted pumping station primarily transports Kazakh oil, not Russian oil.
Igor Jushkov, an expert at the Financial University of the Russian Federation, stated, “This is a show of power by the West, as the sanctions have hindered the import of necessary equipment to Russia and now they are trying to demonstrate that it will take a long time to repair the station.”
Filipp Muradjan, a senior director at Expert RA, disagreed, stating that the CPC’s volumes are significant, but the incident is unlikely to have a notable impact on oil prices, as the market is experiencing a weak demand and sufficient capacity to increase supply from other directions.