Kazakhstan diverted 300,000 tons of oil from drone-hit CPC in December, Kazmunaygaz says

By Mariya Gordeyeva

ALMATY, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan redirected 300,000 metric tons of oil away from the Caspian Pipeline Consortium in December, Kazakhstan's state-owned oil and gas company Kazmunaygaz KMGZ.KZ said on Friday, as exporting equipment was damaged by a drone attack.

On November 29, drones attacked CPC's exporting equipment on the Russian Black Sea coast, resulting in a fall in oil exports via the pipeline.

The company said it diverted oil from the CPC to Germany, China, the Russian ports of Novorossiysk and Ust-Luga, as well as to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.

It also said Kazakhstan plans to increase oil exports to Germany to 2.5 million metric tons, or around 50,000 barrels per day, in 2026 from 2.146 million tons in 2025.

Separately, unidentified drones struck at least two oil tankers in the Black Sea on Tuesday, including one chartered by U.S. oil major Chevron CVX.N, as they sailed toward the CPC terminal to load oil from Kazakhstan.

CPC, which transports oil from western Kazakhstan via the Black Sea terminal near Novorossiysk, accounts for around 80% of Kazakhstan's oil exports.

Kazakhstan, the world's largest landlocked country, has tried to reduce its reliance on Russia as a key exporting route for its commodities.

"In January 2026, given the ongoing restrictions on CPC crude intake, the company will continue its redirection measures," Kazmunaygaz said.

Kazakhstan supplies its oil to Germany via the Soviet-built Druzhba pipeline. This is branded KEBCO to differentiate its supply from Russia's REBCO.