Kazakh oil among cargo aboard tanker attacked near CPC terminal UPDATED

Part of the oil aboard the tanker NELSA, which was attacked near the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal, belonged to Kazakhstan, a source familiar with the situation told Sputnik Kazakhstan.

“At the time of the attack, the tanker was half-loaded. The oil on board belonged to foreign shippers, including Kazakhstan,” the source said.

According to the source, if the tanker had exploded, it could have disabled the offshore mooring facility (SPM-1), potentially causing a sharp decline in Kazakhstan’s oil exports.

The CPC pipeline handles around 80% of Kazakhstan’s export oil shipments.

12:20

A drone attack targeted the marine terminal of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) again on the morning of July 20, striking the civilian tanker NELSA, which was undergoing loading operations.

“Following the impact on the aft section of the starboard side between the superstructure and the engine and boiler room, a fire broke out on the deck and in the tanker’s compartments. The fire was extinguished within several hours,” the CPC stated.

The vessel’s international crew of 22 people was evacuated, except for the captain and chief officer. The tanker remained afloat.

Oil loading operations were suspended following the attack. The CPC said it managed to prevent an oil spill and the ignition of crude oil inside the tanks.

The CPC terminal was also attacked the previous day. Drones struck the ASIA and NISSOS IOS tankers carrying Kazakh oil, with one of the vessels catching fire. Oil loading operations were halted for a day and resumed by evening. Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry said it considered the attacks “an unacceptable encroachment on the economic interests of the Republic of Kazakhstan.”

Previously, CPC facilities were targeted by drones in April, November and September last year.

The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) is a major international oil transportation project involving Russia, Kazakhstan, and leading global energy companies, established to build and operate a trunk pipeline over 1,500 km long from the Tengiz oil field in western Kazakhstan to the Marine Terminal near Novorossiysk on Russia's Black Sea coast.

The pipeline primarily carries crude oil from Kazakhstan's major fields (Tengiz, Kashagan, Karachaganak) along with some Russian volumes, serving as a critical export route that has undergone capacity expansions to handle over 80 million tons annually.

By Jeyhun Aghazada