Caspian Sea: Ukrainian Drone Strike Shuts Down 20 Oil Wells

Ukraine carried out four long-range drone strikes on the Filanovsky offshore platform in the northern Caspian Sea, Orda.kz reports.

According to Bloomberg, roughly 20 production wells were temporarily shut down as a result. The strike is part of Kyiv’s broader effort to disrupt Russian energy infrastructure.

The fallout from other Caspian strikes has previously extended beyond Russia. Earlier attacks on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) and related facilities cut Kazakhstan’s oil output by more than 10%.

Repairs on the damaged CPC single-point mooring have been delayed.

Bloomberg reports that the work will continue until at least December 15. At the moment, only one of the consortium’s three offshore loading units is functioning, and Kazakhstan is warning that storage tanks are nearing capacity, creating a risk of temporary production cuts.

Analysts note that repeated strikes on CPC infrastructure have an outsized impact on Kazakhstan’s economy. The pipeline handles more than 80% of the country’s oil exports, and this is already the third such incident affecting CPC facilities.

Original Author: Ruslan Loginov