KazTransOil plans increased Kazakh oil transportation to Baku via Aktau

KazTransOil JSC, the national operator of Kazakhstan's main oil pipeline, has announced plans to transport 140 thousand tonnes of Kazakh oil through the port of Aktau to Baku in July 2024.

The oil will originate from the resources of Tengizchevroil LLP and will be directed towards the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, Caliber.Az reports citing local media.

The company has confirmed that there are no changes to the transport volume plans for the remainder of 2024, with up to 1.5 million tonnes of oil expected to be transported through Aktau to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline by year-end.

"KazTransOil adheres to an approved oil transportation schedule, overseen by the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan based on applications from shippers," the company stated.

In 2023, KazTransOil loaded 3.376 million tonnes of oil into tankers at the Aktau port, including 1.057 million tonnes directed towards Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan. This marked a significant increase from previous years, reflecting Kazakhstan's efforts to expand oil transport via the Trans-Caspian corridor.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's directive in 2022 aimed at increasing oil transport through this corridor led to agreements between JSC NC KazMunayGas and SOCAR, including plans to transport 1.5 million tonnes annually from the Tengiz field to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. 

In addition, during the visit of Kazakh President Kasym-Jomart Tokayev to Azerbaijan on March 11-12, KazMunaiGas and SOCAR signed an agreement to increase the volume of oil transportation via BTC to 2.2 million tonnes per year.