Caspian Pipeline Consortium operating at full capacity: Kazakh Energy Ministry

ALMATY, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Caspian Pipeline Consortium is currently operating at full capacity, loading two tankers per day, the Kazinform news agency reported Wednesday, citing Kazakh Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov.

Repairs to the offshore single-point mooring unit (SPM)-3 were completed Sunday, and it is now operating steadily together with SPM-1, while the previously attacked SPM-2 remains in a semi-floating condition, the minister said.

Akkenzhenov added that repair work and technical assessments are being complicated by adverse weather conditions and strong underwater currents in the Black Sea.

Kazakhstan's Energy Ministry has ordered two new SPMs from the United Arab Emirates, and three SPMs are expected to be operational at the consortium's terminal within 70 days, he added.

The marine infrastructure facilities of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium near Novorossiysk were attacked by unmanned surface vessels on Nov. 29, 2025, causing significant damage to SPM-2, which has been taken offline pending repair and restoration.

The consortium's 1,511-km pipeline connects oil fields in western Kazakhstan and Russian offshore fields in the Caspian Sea with a marine terminal in Novorossiysk, serving as the main export route for Kazakh oil. ■