CPC says oil exports halted, equipment heavily damaged by drones

MOSCOW, Nov 29 (Reuters) - The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which handles more than 1% of global oil, said on Saturday it halted operations after a mooring at its Black Sea terminal was significantly damaged by a Ukrainian naval drone attack.

"Further operation of mooring point 2 is not possible," it said in a statement about one of three key pieces of exporting equipment.

CPC exports mainly from Kazakhstan via Russia and the Black Sea terminal.

Kazakhstan's energy ministry said it had activated a plan to redirect oil exports to alternative routes after the attack, which it called unacceptable. CPC accounts for around 80% of Kazakhstan’s oil exports.

The ministry also said that such actions pose risks to global energy security and cause significant damage to the economic interests of the consortium members.

CPC's shareholders include U.S. majors Chevron CVX.N and Exxon Mobil XOM.N.

"It's not looking good - it was hit hard. They're going to launch the third mooring point, which is under repair," a trader told Reuters.

No one was injured among CPC staff and contractors as a result of the attack on the oil terminal, the consortium said.

At the moment of the explosion, the emergency protection system shut down the relevant pipelines and preliminary reports indicate that no oil has spilled into the Black Sea, it added.

"Shipments at the terminal will be carried out in accordance with established rules once the threats from unmanned boats and drones have been eliminated," CPC said.