Kazakhstan Reportedly Diverts Shipments from Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan Pipeline Amid Azeri Light Quality Drop

Kazakhstan has redirected crude oil shipments away from the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline after a decline in the quality of Azerbaijan’s flagship Azeri Light brand, Orda.kz reports.

According to S&P Global, Kazakhstan is now using the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s infrastructure instead. Reports regarding the issue with quality first surfaced in December.

In late July, shipments from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan via BTC stopped, sources told S&P.

The drop in quality has significantly impacted Azeri Light’s price and export volumes. September shipments are expected to average under 550,000 barrels per day, compared with 586,000 in the first half of the year.

Price premiums have dropped from about $4 per barrel above Brent to just $0.45. The exact cause of the quality decline remains unknown.

This temporary change underscores the vulnerability of alternative export routes Central Asian countries are seeking to reduce dependence on Russian infrastructure,
 S&P Global noted.

Kazakhstan had been increasing BTC shipments, expected to reach 1.7 million tonnes (about 35,000 bpd) in 2025, primarily from the Tengiz and Kashagan fields. Neither Tengizchevroil nor KazMunayGas (KMG) has commented publicly.

KMG previously discussed expanding BTC supplies with Azerbaijan’s SOCAR, but analysts have warned that differences in quality and pricing between Kazakh and Azeri crude could complicate those plans. Kazakh crude has higher sulfur content, and SOCAR is willing to accept no more than 2.2 million tonnes per year from Kazakhstan.

In March, KMG Chair Askhat Khasenov stated that Kazakhstan was not responsible for degrading Azeri Light’s quality — whether the company will stick firmly to that position remains to be seen.

Original Author: Nikita Drobny