Russia has suddenly decided to reverse its decision to suspend the operation of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s offshore oil terminal, through which crude oil from Kazakhstan is transported.
A Krasnodar court considered an appeal against the Primorsky District Court of Novorossiysk’s decision to order the Caspian Pipeline Consortium to suspend operations for 30 days as an administrative penalty, the CFTS portal reports, citing the Interfax news agency. Instead, the appeal court decided to impose an administrative fine of RUB 200,000 on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium.
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s terminal on the Black Sea is the main export route for Kazakh crude oil, which accounts for 80% of the total volume of crude oil pumped through the pipeline.
The Russians suspended the operation of the terminal after Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev held a telephone conversation with the European Council’s head Charles Michel, during which he hinted that Kazakhstan was ready to replace Russian crude oil on the EU market.
After that, Tokayev said at a Kazakh government meeting that diversification of the country’s oil supply routes was a strategic task. He ordered officials to conduct a study into the optimal option for creating a Trans-Caspian route and to increase the capacities of two Kazakh oil pipelines.
