Russia ships 10 million tons of oil through Kazakhstan to China

In 2024, nearly 10 million tons of Russian oil were transported through Kazakhstan to China, according to KazTransOil, Kazakhstan’s national oil transportation company.

«Between January and November 2024, KazTransOil JSC facilitated the transit of 9,126,000 tons of Russian oil through Kazakhstan to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Under the oil transportation schedule approved by Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy, KazTransOil JSC is set to deliver an additional 863,100 tons of Russian oil to the PRC in December 2024,» the company stated.

Under an agreement with Rosneft, Russia’s state-owned oil and gas company, KazTransOil is expected to ship another 10 million tons of Russian oil to China via Kazakhstan in 2025. The oil is delivered via the following route: Russian Federation – Kazakhstan border (Priirtyshsk) – Atasu (Kazakhstan) – Alashankou (China).

An order from Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy sets the annual cost of transporting Russian oil through Kazakhstan to China at $15 per ton (excluding VAT). This applies from Jan. 1, 2024, to Dec. 31, 2033, and amounts to $150 million annually. In the early 2010s, Kazakhstan exported over 10 million tons of its oil to China annually. Russian oil has been transported to China via Kazakhstan since 2014. Initially, the annual volume was approximately 7 million tons, but this figure later increased to 10 million tons.

Another route for exporting Russian oil through Kazakhstan leads to Uzbekistan. In the first 11 months of 2024, 225,000 tons of Russian oil were delivered to Uzbekistan via Kazakhstan.

«According to the oil transportation schedule approved by Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy, 4,300 tons of Russian oil are to be delivered to Uzbekistan through Kazakhstan in December 2024,» the company said.