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.