Second Kazakhstani company starts exporting oil to Germany

In April 2024, Inpex North Caspian Sea, a Kazakhstani subsidiary of Japan’s Inpex, exported 20,000 tons of oil to Germany via the Druzhba pipeline, according to sources familiar with statistics from the Russian Ministry of Energy, as reported by Russian Vedomosti.

Inpex, holding a 7.56% stake in the Kashagan field, has become the second Kazakhstani company to export oil to Germany through Druzhba. Previously, Kazakhstan exported oil produced at the Karachaganak field, though it remains unclear which member of the Karachaganak Petroleum Operating (KPO) consortium facilitated this export.

Germany ceased importing Russian oil at the beginning of 2023. To address the subsequent shortage, Germany reached an agreement with KazTransOil, which secured consent from Russian Transneft to transport 1.2 million tons of Kazakhstani oil to Germany via Druzhba. In February 2023, the first 20,000 tons of oil were delivered to Germany, followed by an additional 20,000 tons in March 2023, 50,000 tons in April 2023 and 100,000 tons in May 2023. In total, KPO exported 933,000 tons of oil to Germany in 2023, short of the anticipated 1.2 million tons.

In early March 2024, Kazakhstan’s Energy Minister Almasadam Satkaliyev announced ongoing negotiations with Germany to increase oil supplies to up to two million tons this year. Experts indicated that Kazakhstan might have to reduce supplies to other destinations to meet this goal due to OPEC+ production constraints.

According to Vedomosti’s sources, Inpex exported 39,000 tons of oil through Novorossiysk and over 18,000 tons via Ust-Luga in 2023. In 2024, the company has so far exported 22,000 tons through Novorossiysk, with no shipments via Ust-Luga.

The North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC), which operates the Kashagan field, includes several prominent stakeholders alongside Inpex: KMG Kashagan B.V. (16.8%), Shell Kazakhstan Development B.V. (16.8%), Total EP Kazakhstan (16.8%), Agip Caspian Sea B.V. (16.8%), ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Inc. (16.8%) and CNPC Kazakhstan B.V. (8.3%). The Karachaganak project is managed by Eni S.p.A. (29.25%), Shell Plc (29.25%), Chevron (18%), Lukoil (13.5%) and KazMunayGas (10%).