Tengrinews.kz — The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has called for an end to attacks on vessels near Novorossiysk, home to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) marine terminal, citing The Wall Street Journal.
According to the publication, the appeal was conveyed to the Ukrainian side on Tuesday, July 21. A White House official served as the source of the information.
The WSJ links Washington's appeal to attacks on civilian vessels in the Black Sea. The CPC terminal is primarily used to export oil produced in Kazakhstan, along with small volumes of Russian crude.
The pipeline transports nearly two percent of the world's oil. The consortium's shareholders include American companies Chevron and ExxonMobil.
It should be noted that Ukraine has not publicly claimed responsibility for specific attacks on tankers operating with the CPC. Kazakhstan has also not officially named the state behind the strikes.
Tankers targeted in attacks
One of the largest attacks occurred on July 19 during oil loading at the CPC marine terminal's single point mooring units.
Drones attacked two tankers: the Liberian-flagged ASIA and the Marshall Islands-flagged NISSOS IOS.
According to official CPC data, the tanker ASIA was being loaded with oil from Tengizchevroil, in which American-based Chevron is a major stakeholder.
The NISSOS IOS was loading oil for Kashagan B.V. and Maten Petroleum, the latter of which is partly owned by the national company KazMunayGas.
Thus, both tankers were carrying oil produced in Kazakhstan.
Impact of the attacks on Kazakhstan
Following the attacks, loading operations at the marine terminal were temporarily suspended. The Ministry of Energy explained that the decision was made to ensure the safety of vessels, crews, and the Black Sea environment.
The CPC's production and technical facilities remain undamaged, are in good working order, and are ready to resume oil transshipment once the situation normalizes.
The suspension of loading has already affected domestic oil production in Kazakhstan. Due to the restrictions, the CPC has stopped accepting previous volumes of crude. To prevent storage tanks from overflowing, extraction companies have temporarily reduced daily production.
As a reminder, Kazakhstan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs previously strongly condemned the drone attacks on civilian vessels transporting oil via CPC infrastructure.
The ministry described them as an unacceptable encroachment on the country's economic interests.
U.S. Interests
Major American oil companies are participants in the CPC.
Chevron holds a 15 percent stake in the consortium, while the ExxonMobil-affiliated Mobil Caspian Pipeline Company holds 7.5 percent. Additionally, Chevron and ExxonMobil are major investors in Kazakhstani oil projects.
The WSJ notes that the attacks have already disrupted the transportation of Kazakhstani and Russian oil to the Black Sea. Amid simultaneous risks to supplies via the Red Sea, Brent crude prices rose by approximately two percent on July 21, reaching $91 per barrel.