Ukraine war: Russia cuts westbound oil transit from Kazakhstan

Created: 06/07/2022, 09:20

By: Helena Gries

The oil terminal in the southern Russian port city of Novorossiysk has had to stop operations for the time being.

The westbound transit of oil and gas has been halted by a court ruling.

© Imago/Vitaly Timkiv

There had been disagreements between Russia and Kazakhstan over the Ukraine war.

Now the westbound transit of oil has been halted by a court ruling. 

Novorossiysk - A Black Sea terminal destined for the export of Kazakh oil has been ordered to suspend operations for 30 days by a court in southern Russia.

The stop was justified with possible environmental damage, as the Interfax news agency reported on Wednesday night (July 6th).

Most recently, there had been disagreements between Russia and the neighboring Central Asian ex-Soviet republic of Kazakhstan over the Ukraine war.

The operating company Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) is "forced to implement the court decision" but will appeal against it, according to a statement from the company.

According to official information, the documentation for the emergency plan for the elimination of any oil spills is incomplete.

The authorities had originally given CPC until November 30 to eliminate the violations, but in a court hearing on Tuesday, the regional transport supervisory authority surprisingly called for the terminal to be closed - and was right.

Ukraine conflict: Kazakhstan wanted to supply more oil to Europe

80 percent of the oil exported from Kazakhstan flows through the terminal in the port city of Novorossiysk in southern Russia - Kazakhstan does not have its own access to the world's oceans.

The handling capacity is 67 million tons of oil per year.

Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev recently offered the EU to deliver more oil and gas to Europe to ensure the continent's energy security despite the Ukraine conflict and the associated sanctions against Russia.

Kazakhstan has not recognized the independence of Moscow-backed separatist republics in eastern Ukraine.

(hg/dpa)