BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 4. Kazakhstan has
sent an official request to Russia regarding the resumption of
Kazakh oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline, Kazakhstan's Energy
Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov said.
He made the statement during a live-streamed press conference
monitored by Trend.
"I personally handed over the official request. The Kazakh side
is awaiting a response from the Russian side regarding the
resumption of supplies. We have the technical capability to do so,"
Akkenzhenov said.
The minister also noted that Kazakhstan expects to meet its oil
production target of 96 million tonnes in 2026. According to him,
the country plans to increase production to approximately 99
million tonnes in 2027.
Kazakh oil supplies via the northern branch of the Druzhba
pipeline along the Atyrau-Samara-Schwedt route have been suspended
since May 1, 2026. The Russian side attributed the suspension to
technical restrictions and infrastructure problems along the
transit section running through Russia.
In response, Kazakhstan is redirecting oil flows to alternative
export routes, including the port of Ust-Luga and the Caspian
Pipeline Consortium (CPC) system.
According to Kazakhstan's Ministry of Energy, Kazakh oil
supplies via the Druzhba pipeline increased from 1 million tonnes
in 2023 to 2.1 million tonnes in 2025. The volume was planned to
reach 2.5 million tonnes in 2026.
Kazakhstan produced about 99.6 million tonnes of oil in 2025.
Oil production in 2026 was affected by attacks on infrastructure
and temporary suspensions of oil shipments through CPC terminals.
In addition, technical problems occurred at Tengiz, the country's
largest oil field.