Chevron's chief executive told investors on Friday that the Caspian Pipeline Consortium - CPC - pipeline is flowing and that ships have begun loading this week after a short interruption, the company said during its earnings call.
The CPC briefly suspended oil loadings on Thursday after a drone strike struck a tanker at the port. The consortium later reported that a second tanker had been attacked while it was in the process of loading, prompting vessels that were scheduled to take on cargo to leave the terminal area.
The CPC is a key export artery for Kazakhstan and accounts for nearly 2% of global oil exports, moving crude from the Tengiz oil field to the Russian Black Sea terminal at Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka near Novorossiysk. Tengiz is operated by Tengizchevroil, of which Chevron holds a 50% stake, and it is the major exporter using the CPC pipeline.
On Friday two industry sources told reporters that CPC oil loadings could recommence later in the day. One of those sources said that single point mooring 3 at the CPC terminal was scheduled to load a tanker on Friday.
The resumption follows the consortium's decision to pause operations after the initial drone incident and the subsequent report of an additional attack during a loading operation. Chevron's comments came as part of its regular investor update on earnings day and provide confirmation from a major stakeholder that oil movement through the CPC system has restarted.
Given the CPC's share of global seaborne exports and its role as the primary outlet for Kazakhstan's oil, any interruption at the terminal has the potential to affect shipping schedules and export volumes until operations are fully normalized.
Industry-sourced reports that specific loading points, including single point mooring 3, would be used to return tankers to service suggest a staged return to normal operations rather than an immediate, system-wide restart. The timeline for full normalization beyond the statements cited on Friday was not provided.
Summary
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium resumed flowing this week and ships are loading after a temporary halt triggered by drone attacks on tankers at the CPC terminal. Chevron, which owns half of Tengizchevroil and is a major stakeholder in exports through CPC, reported the restart during its earnings call. Industry sources said loadings could resume later in the day, with single point mooring 3 expected to load a tanker.