Caspian Pipeline Consortium completes cleanup operation after accident, spill

The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) said on Saturday that cleanup operations had been completed following an accident and oil spill at its Black Sea terminal.

The spill had prompted the company, which handles more than one per cent of global oil, to suspend operations at two mooring points.

A CPC statement said it had suspended the emergency operation after examining surface conditions near the site. The volume of the oil leak was being clarified and an investigation conducted into the causes of the accident.

"The site of the oil spill was quickly localised, as was attested to by the relevant oversight bodies," it said. Collected waste was turned over to the terminal for further disposal.

The CPC exports mainly from Kazakhstan via Russia and the Black Sea terminal.

It normally deploys three mooring points, with one usually acting as a backup. CPC, whose shareholders include US majors Chevron and Exxon Mobil, said that one mooring point, SPM-1, had remained operational.

CPC has been in the spotlight during Russia's conflict in Ukraine. The consortium closed all but one of its mooring points several times in 2022 due to damage severely cutting exports via the route.

Its operations have been interrupted this year, including by a drone strike.