Kazakhstan has begun to reconsider its oil export routes after Ukraine's strikes on tankers in the Black Sea.
Modern.az reports that, according to Bloomberg, the country may soon stop exporting oil through the port of Novorossiysk.
According to the agency's interlocutors, the main reason for the decision is the sharp increase in security risks in the Black Sea.
According to the information, tanker companies already consider it dangerous to send ships to the Novorossiysk terminal.
During the last incident, the Nelsa tanker was hit by a drone while loading oil at the Novorossiysk terminal of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC). A fire broke out on the ship as a result of the attack.
Bloomberg notes that the current situation may force Kazakhstan to prefer alternative export routes.
Against this background, one of the most realistic alternatives is considered to be the Trans-Caspian route through Azerbaijan. In recent years, Baku and Astana have expanded cooperation to increase oil transportation through the Caspian Sea. Part of Kazakhstan's oil is already delivered from the port of Aktau to Baku by tanker, and from there it is exported to the world market via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) main export pipeline.
Experts believe that the increase in security risks in the Black Sea may further strengthen Azerbaijan's strategic importance as an energy and transit hub. This, in turn, may give an additional impetus to the increasing role of the Middle Corridor and the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route.
