ASTANA, Kazakhstan, October 3. The volume of rail transportation of oil from Kazakhstan is decreasing.
According to the data obtained from Argus analytical agency by Trend, Tengizchevroil (TCO) has suspended the supply of Tengiz oil through Batumi since the beginning of the year. The only shipment of this variety in the first half of the year with a volume of 82,000 tons was shipped from the Georgian terminal in January.
The agency said that, this year, TCO decided to use the supply of raw materials through the port of Aktau as an alternative to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC).
Since October 2022, TCO has resumed supplies of Tengiz oil by rail, bypassing the Caspian Sea, in transit through the territory of Russia and Azerbaijan (the Yalama-Samur border crossing). Deliveries began due to interruptions in the pumping of raw materials through the CPC pipeline in 2022.
In total, rail exports of raw materials from Kazakhstan in the first half of the year decreased to 34,000 tons from 248,000 tons a year earlier.
Argus noted that, in addition to stopping transportation to Batumi, Kazakh exporters have reduced rail supplies of raw materials to Uzbekistan to a minimum.
As Argus explains, this year, combined supplies of inexpensive Russian oil in this direction have increased, which has reduced the attractiveness of imports from Kazakhstan.
In March, Gazprom Oil began combined supplies of raw materials through the Transneft and KazTransOil (KTO) systems to Uzbekistan.
Pipeline transit of Russian oil through Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan in the second quarter increased compared to January - March.
The pumping of raw materials towards the Fergana refinery in April-June increased to 37,900 tons from 10,700 tons in the first quarter, the Kazakh pipeline state company KTO reported on July 5.
As a result, in the first half of the year, 23,900 tons of oil and about 10,000 tons of gas condensate were exported from Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan by rail.