Kazakhstan Ships First Kashagan Oil to Azerbaijan via Alternative Route

The first batch of oil from the Kashagan field has been sent to Baku, reports Orda.

Deliveries to Azerbaijan are part of the work to implement presidential directives: Qasym-Jomart Toqayev gave instructions to utilize alternative routes for hydrocarbon supplies.

According to KazMunayGas, the tanker Taraz carrying Kashagan oil departed for Baku from the port of Aqtau.

Oil will flow from Azerbaijan's capital through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline to the Mediterranean Sea.

KMG reminded that since 2022, the national company has had a general agreement on Kazakhstan's oil transit with Azerbaijan's state oil corporation SOCAR. In March last year, the companies agreed to increase this transit volume to 2.2 million tons annually gradually.

The exporter is KazMunayGas's subsidiary company, KMG Kashagan B.V.

At the end of 2024, Kazakhstan's Ministry of Energy reported plans to increase BTC supplies more than 13-fold, from 1.5 million to 20 million tons annually. 

However, SOCAR immediately cooled enthusiasm, indicating it was not ready to process such volumes.

Original Author: Nikita Drobny