The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) aims to complete repairs on its third single point mooring (SPM-3) at its Black Sea terminal ahead of schedule, seeking to restore full CPC Blend oil export capacity after a drone attack damaged one of its other moorings, five sources said on Tuesday.
SPM-3, which has been undergoing maintenance since mid-November, is now expected to return to operation within the next seven days, the sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Repairs had initially been planned to last two months.
Its SPM-2 mooring remains offline following significant damage from a Ukrainian naval drone attack on Saturday, which prompted CPC to halt operations. Its repairs are expected to take months, sources say, adding that the precise timeframe for repairs or its replacement is being studied.
A spokesperson for the consortium - whose shareholders include Russian, Kazakh and US firms - declined to comment.
CPC resumed limited loadings from the remaining operational mooring on Monday. It is currently operating at just over half its normal capacity, the sources said. With two of its three SPMs online, it will be able to restore exports to full levels, they said.
"It is critical to put the second mooring point into operation as suppliers may face output cuts otherwise," said a source at a company supplying oil to CPC.
The sources declined to be named as they are not authorised to speak to the media.
CPC Blend oil exports from the Black Sea are scheduled to rise to 1.7 million barrels per day (bpd) in December from around 1.45 million bpd in November, according to a preliminary plan. However, the sources warned that the plan could be revised downward depending on the pace of repairs.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)