Kazakhstan's Energy Ministry hopes Western sanctions won’t target CPC

В Минэнерго надеются, что антироссийские санкции не коснутся КТК

Sanctions imposed by Western countries against Russia haven’t affected the CPC so far / Photo: CPC, photo editor: Dastan Shanay

Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry is confident that Western sanctions against Russia will not target the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC).

As the ministry told Kursiv.media, Kazakhstan has been negotiating with the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) since the beginning of the sanctions campaign to keep the CPC from coming under pressure. So far, the pipeline has not been affected and continues to have access to spare parts and equipment. This situation remained unchanged in the EU’s 16th sanctions package, the agency said.

For Kazakhstan, the CPC is the main export route for its oil and was designed for that purpose from the outset.

«Under the agreement establishing the consortium, all shareholders have specific rights and liabilities. Thanks to an oil bank within the CPC, oil exporters can be assured they will be compensated if their oil quality changes. The total investment in the project amounted to $8.4 billion. In 2024, the CPC transported 54.9 million tons of Kazakhstani oil, with a target of 57 million tons for 2025,» the ministry said.

The United States has already prohibited its businesses from providing services related to oil production in Russia. This ban took effect on Feb. 27. However, three companies — CPC, Tengizchevroil and Sakhalin-2 — are exempt until June 28, when their licenses expire.

In late January, Tengizchevroil reported a 45% increase in average daily oil output last year, reaching a record of 870,000 barrels per day — higher than the 850,000-barrel initial target set by Chevron and its partners for the first half of 2025. The expansion of oil production at Tengiz cost around $49 billion.

The Energy Ministry expects Tengizchevroil to produce 34.7 million tons (about 760,000 barrels per day) this year — a 24.8% increase over 2024’s output of 27.8 million tons. The company plans to ramp up oil production in the coming months by an additional 12 million tons per year.

Overall, Kazakhstan’s oil and gas condensate output is projected to reach 96.2 million tons in 2025, up from 87.56 million tons in 2024. The vast majority (95%) of Tengiz oil is transported via the CPC, with the remaining 5% exported through the port of Aktau and the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline. The CPC anticipates that exports of Kazakhstani oil will increase in the second half of 2025 due to the Tengiz expansion project. Once all production capacities at Tengiz are fully operational, annual oil output is expected to reach 40 million tons.