Kazakhstan Diversifies Oil-Export Routes With Tanker Purchases
- Vessels will carry Kazakh oil a across Caspian and Black Seas
- War in Ukraine increased risks to oil shipping in the region
The Atyrau oil refinery, operated by KazMunayGas National Co., in Atyrau, Kazakhstan.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg
Kazakhstan is buying tankers to ship its oil across across the Caspian and Black Seas, the latest sign that central Asia’s largest crude producer is seeking alternatives to its main export pipeline through Russia.
A unit of state-run KazMunayGas National Co. JSC already bought two tankers with deadweight tonnage of 8,000 tons each — relatively small ships by oil industry standards — to transport petroleum across Caspian Sea, said deputy energy minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov. It plans to buy another two vessels with deadweight tonnage of 80,000 tons each — one of the most common cargo sizes — to operate in the Black Sea, he said.