Ukraine attacks Russian naval base in Novorossiysk

The armed forces of Ukraine attempted to attack a Russian naval base in Novorossiysk, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported. This place is not very far from the offshore mooring run by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC).

According to the defense ministry, two unmanned surface vehicles were used as tools for the attack. Both were destroyed by the combat ships guarding the base in the sea, Russian officials said.

For instance, Veniamin Kondratyev, governor of the Krasnodar Kray, said that no damages or casualties were reported. However, some locals reported huge explosions in the area of Novorossiysk and the Myskhako village west of the town. The noise people heard was apparently an explosion of a naval drone hit by Russian ships in the harbor.

The village of Yuzhnaya Ozereevka, where the CPC offshore infrastructure is located, is just 18 kilometers away from Novorossiysk and 16 kilometers from Myskhako. The CPC reported that its infrastructure hasn’t been damaged and the pipeline is operating as usual. The company is currently loading oil onto tankers in the bay, even though authorities in the port of Novorossiysk have imposed a temporary ban on ship traffic.

The CPC is one of the main exporting routes for Kazakhstani oil. It accounts for 80% of all Kazakhstani oil exports to Europe. The country is also exploiting the Druzhba pipeline, which goes through Russia and Belarus. For instance, Kazakhstan has been exporting oil to Germany via this route since the beginning of the year. The Germans are interested in Kazakhstan’s oil as they want to substitute Russian oil that Germany no longer imports.

In March, the armed forces of Ukraine hit the Druzhba pipeline in the Belgorod region of Russia with the help of combat drones. Even though the attack didn’t destroy the pipeline, it effectively damaged it.

The CPC is the international consortium of several oil companies such as Russian Transheft (24%), Kazakhstan’s KazMunayGaz (19%), American Chevron (15%), Lukarco (a subsidiary of Russian Lukoil in the Netherlands, 12.5%), ExxonMobil (7.5%), a joint venture by Rosneft and Shell (registered in Cyprus, 7.5%) and a group of minority stakeholders from the U.K., Kazakhstan, Italy and the U.S.

At the end of June, the CPC completed the overhaul of its third offshore mooring. As a result, all three moorings are currently operating at full capacity.