Kazakhstan has cut its 2026 oil production target to 96 million tonnes from 98 million due to Ukrainian drone attacks on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), Energy Minister Erlan Akkenzhenov said on Tuesday.
The CPC carries around 80 per cent of Kazakhstan's oil exports via the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. Tankers serving the outlet have come under Ukrainian drone attack in recent months, drawing criticism from Kazakhstan.
Speaking to journalists in Astana, Akkenzhenov said: "The oil production plan will be adjusted due to the attacks on the CPC...due to the attacks in January and the ongoing attacks in June and July, we lost approximately 3.5 million tonnes."
"Consequently, while we had planned to produce 98 million tonnes, the adjusted target is now 96 million tonnes," he said.
Kazakhstan, Central Asia's largest economy, accounts for about two per cent of global daily oil supply but is heavily reliant on the CPC. Alternative export routes to China or across the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan and Turkey face capacity constraints.
Kazakhstan has sought to balance ties between Moscow and Kyiv during the war in Ukraine, backing Ukraine's territorial integrity while condemning Ukrainian attacks on the CPC.
Akkenzhenov said oil exports through the CPC are currently operating normally.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has publicly urged Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to pursue peace talks.
Akkenzhenov also said planned maintenance at the Karachaganak oil and gas condensate field is expected in mid-September, with production losses estimated at 400,000 to 450,000 tonnes.
He also said Kazakhstan's Kondensat oil refinery in western Kazakhstan, near the Russian border, will process Russian crude, with 70 per cent of the refined products shipped back to Russia.
Small volumes of Kazakh petroleum products have already been delivered to Russia, he added.
Russia has faced fuel shortages as Ukraine has intensified drone attacks on its refineries.
(Reporting by Tamara Vaal. Writing by Felix Light. editing by Vladimir Soldatkin and Mark Potter)
