Kazakhstan increased oil exports bypassing Russia in 2022

Kazakhstan, the world’s largest landlocked country, increased oil exports that bypassed Russia last year, but was still heavily reliant on supply channels via its neighbour, Reuters calculations based on industry data and sources show.

Kazakhstan has sought ways to decrease its dependence on Russian exporting routes as it has often faced difficulties in selling oil through Russia, Reuters reported on February 2.

Kazakh oil is not subject to Western sanctions, unlike Russian crude, although the sanctions have created problems for some Kazakh products.

The main, and most profitable, route for oil exports from Kazakhstan remains the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which supplies oil to the global market via a Russian Black Sea terminal.

Supplies via CPC dipped 1% last year to 51.99 million tonnes, accounting for more than 80% of total oil supplies from Kazakhstan.