The Caspian Petroleum Consortium (CPC), which supplies about 1% of the world’s oil and includes Russian, Kazakh and US interests, will not return to full loading capacity until December 11 at the earliest, after a Ukrainian oil spill severely damaged one of its critical terminals near Novorossiysk, Russia.
The CPC terminal handles 80% of Kazakhstan’s oil exports, and the November 29 attack resulted in a temporary shutdown, while oil prices rose by more than $1 a barrel due to the attack.
Only one of the three platforms is operational
SPM-2, the floating platform that loads oil onto the tankers, suffered significant damage, while SPM-1 remains operational, allowing the CPC to extract about half the normal volume. SPM-3 has been under maintenance since mid-November and repairs are not expected to be completed before December 11-13 due to bad weather and technical difficulties.
CPC had already diverted some cargo through other routes, such as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, but has no significant alternatives for its bulk exports. Repairs to the SPM-2 could take months, and the exact time estimate for its restoration or replacement remains uncertain.
