Kazakh president to discuss oil export route bypassing Russia during Turkey visit

 Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev will visit Ankara on July 29 to discuss expanding oil exports via the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, bypassing Russian territory, experts say.

Shareholders of Kazakhstan’s major oil fields — Kashagan and Tengiz — are considering building a new subsea pipeline across the Caspian Sea with a capacity of 12 to 20 million tonnes per year. The proposed line, potentially running Eskene–Kuryk–Baku, could serve as a supplement to the CPC pipeline, which may lack capacity once Kashagan’s Phase-2 comes online.

Additional output from Kalamkas-Khazar, Taisoigan and Karaton-Uplift fields is also expected.

However, increasing CPC Blend volumes through BTC may dilute Azeri Light crude, potentially lowering its price. At present, Baku allows only 1.5 million tonnes of Kazakh oil per year via BTC to preserve Azeri Light quality.

According to energy analysts, the Caspian seabed pipeline does not require Russian or Iranian consent. Meanwhile, Iran has expressed interest in swap-based oil deliveries with Kazakhstan.

N.Tebrizli