Ship-tracking data and foreign reports show four crude tankers loaded at a Black
Sea-area terminal crucial for Kazakh exports over the past few days; two of
those vessels have departed waters off the Russian CPC (Caspian Pipeline
Consortium) terminal since last Friday. At least three additional tankers are
waiting to load, status unclear. Continued loading via CPC should provide some
near-term relief to global crude supply; the CPC system moves Kazakh volumes
produced in JVs with majors including Chevron and normally accounts for about 2%
of global supply. Kazakhstan is the second-largest crude supplier to Europe.
Kazakh authorities said over the weekend producers are still delivering crude to
the terminal but flows remain below normal. The terminal is prepared to load at
pre-attack rates, though export throughput will depend on available tonnage and
weather conditions.
