MOSCOW: A Ukrainian drone attack on a major oil export pipeline that crosses southern Russia could reduce export volumes by almost a third over the next two months, Russia’s state pipeline operator said Tuesday.
Seven explosive-packed drones on Monday hit a pumping station of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which carries Kazakh oil across southern Russia for export via the Black Sea, including to western Europe.
“The consequences of this hit will be eliminated within one-and-a-half to two months, which could lead to a fall in the volume of oil pumped from Kazakhstan by 30 percent,” Transneft, Russia’s state controlled pipeline company said in a statement Tuesday.
The 1,500-kilometre (930-mile) pipeline is owned by a consortium in which the Russian and Kazakh governments as well as Western energy majors Chevron, ExxonMobil and Shell.
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It carries around 80 percent of Kazakhstan’s crude oil exports and about one percent of total global supply.
Three-quarters of the 63 million tonnes that flowed through the pipeline last year were pumped by Western energy companies, Transneft said Tuesday.
Asked by AFP how it would redirect oil and what the hit might be to its economy, Kazakhstan’s energy ministry said it was “currently ascertaining all details on the issue.”
Heavily reliant on Russian infrastructure, the Central Asian nation has stepped up efforts to diversify its energy export routes amid the Ukraine offensive.
Kyiv has targeted Russia’s energy infrastructure throughout the three-year conflict, seeking to hit sites it says supply fuel to Moscow’s army or provides funds to support its offensive.
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