ASTANA, Kazakhstan, October 3. Supplies of Kazakh oil through the port of Aktau in the direction of Azerbaijani terminals will increase significantly this year.
According to the data obtained from Argus analytical agency by Trend, in total, in the first half of the year, 660,000 tons of raw materials were shipped from Aktau towards Azerbaijani ports, including 366,400 tons of Tengiz oil.
As KazMunayGas, Kazakhstan's national oil and gas company, and the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) signed a five-year agreement in November last year, it is expected that up to 1.5 million tons of oil per year will be transported via the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline.
The agency said that from January through June 2023, SOCAR purchased part of the volume supplied from Aktau independently from Kazakh subsoil users, including oil supplies from the Dunga, Buzachi, Kashagan fields and gas condensate from the Chinarevskoye field. These batches were delivered to Sangachal for pumping via the BTC, as well as for loading the Baku Oil Refinery.
Argus noted that, to transport 145,000-160,000 tons of oil per month from Aktau to Sangachal, tankers with a deadweight of 12,000-13,000 tons each under the Azerbaijani and Kazakh flags are attracted.
The total transit of Kazakhstani raw materials through the port of Aktau, taking into account supplies to Makhachkala, may exceed 3.5 million tons, Argus forecasts, subject to shipments of the planned 1.5 million tons in the direction of Azerbaijani terminals.
Several other producers in Western Kazakhstan are showing interest in supplying raw materials to Aktau for sea transportation in the direction of the BTC.
In addition, Kazakhstan suppliers are offered to send up to 5 million tons of oil per year to Supsa via the Baku-Supsa pipeline.
Moreover, the Baku-Supsa oil pipeline with a capacity of 7.4 million tons was intended only for the supply of Azeri Light. The route is not connected to other pipelines and is not used for the supply of raw materials from third parties.
Thus, according to Argus, Kazakhstan has the opportunity to increase the volume of oil transportation along the Trans-Caspian route to 5.5-7.5 million tons/year from the current 2.2 million tons/year.