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.
