Romania receives good news as fuel prices have started to rise again due to the halt in oil deliveries from Kazakhstan.
The Ministry of Energy in Astana announced that loading operations on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), the main route through which oil imported by Romania arrives, have resumed after the suspension caused by drone attacks on the Russian Novorossiisk terminal at the Black Sea, as reported by Astana Times.
Officials stated that tanker loading is currently underway at two offshore oil docks with a single anchorage point of the CPC.
The tankers SEAMAJESTY and MILOS are loading oil supplied by Tengizchevroil, the operator of Kazakhstan's largest oil field. The resumption of oil acceptance allows producing companies to restore deliveries to the CPC and resume export operations through the maritime terminal.
The Ministry specified that operations at the terminal will continue by constantly assessing security and complying with all necessary security requirements.
In addition, officials remain in constant contact with the CPC management and major oil companies, and will continue to coordinate efforts to ensure uninterrupted transportation of oil from Kazakhstan.
The announcement comes after the suspension of loading operations at the CPC last week following drone attacks.
The suspension of CPC pipeline loadings, through which nearly 2% of global oil is exported, has heightened global concerns regarding oil supplies, as the conflict in Iran has already disrupted oil supply from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf producers.
Sources wishing to remain anonymous told Reuters that Kazakhstan's oil and condensate production decreased on Wednesday to 1.63 million barrels per day from an average of 2.07 million in July.
The decline was particularly sharp at the Tengiz field, operated by Chevron, the largest oil field in Kazakhstan. A source stated that production at Tengiz had halved to around 406,000 barrels per day on Wednesday from an average of 925,000 bpd in July.
The Kazakh Energy Ministry confirmed the reduction, stating that producers had cut production as the CPC pipeline restricted entries and its storage tanks neared maximum capacity. "The adjustment was a technical measure aimed at maintaining stable production operations," the Energy Ministry clarified.
"From Kazakhstan, Romania imports approximately 60% of its oil needs (...) For Romania, it is a more crucial point than Iran, because here we get most of our oil and we do not have serious alternatives for transportation," explained Ciprian Cherciu, an energy expert, recently.
The CPC is a 1,510 km oil pipeline connecting oil fields in Kazakhstan to the Russian port of Novorossiisk on the Black Sea.
The oil loaded at Novorossiisk is then transported by tankers to global markets.
Approximately 80% of Kazakhstan's oil exports, including those from fields operated by Western companies such as Chevron, ExxonMobil, Eni, or Shell, are transported through the CPC pipeline, which is also used for transporting Russian oil.