Kazakhstan to prioritize Trans-Caspian corridor for oil exports: President

By Meiramgul Kussainova

NUR SULTAN, Kazakhstan (AA) – Kazakhstan’s president on Thursday instructed officials to make the Trans-Caspian route a priority for the country’s oil exports.

In a high-level meeting with government officials and executives of state companies, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said Kazakhstan’s ports should be “one of the leading hubs in the Caspian Sea.”

Transport and logistics have a critical role in Kazakhstan’s economy, he told officials.

The current geopolitical situation and sanctions have broken the conventional transportation and logistics chains, he added, referring to the Ukraine war and measures taken against Russia by the West and its allies.

Measures to ensure the safe and uninterrupted export of domestic products are essential, he added.

On the need for diversifying trade routes, particularly for oil shipments, he said: “The Trans-Caspian route is a priority. I instruct (national oil and gas firm) KazMunayGas to work out the best option for its implementation, including the possibility of attracting investors from the Tengiz project.”

He said Kazakhstan has “not fully utilized the possibilities of sea transportation” because it is not a maritime country.

Tokayev also proposed modernizing the Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) national railway operator and transforming it into “a national transport and logistics company.”

- Caspian Pipeline Consortium

A court in Russia’s Novorossiysk on Wednesday ordered the Caspian Pipeline Consortium to halt all activities for 30 days over environmental violations.

Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Alihan Ismailov held an emergency meeting with government officials to iron out measures to minimize the “negative consequences and losses of state budget because of Kazakh oil export restrictions,” according to the premier’s office.

The consortium has appealed the court’s decision, asking for its implementation to be postponed as abrupt cessation of operations could have irreversible consequences on production.

Kazakh oil accounts for 80% of the volume pumped through the pipeline.​​​​​​​