Drone strikes cut CPC oil loadings by a fifth in July

Drone attacks in the Black Sea region slashed oil loadings from the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) by more than a fifth in July, according to four sources familiar with the data. The disruption marks a fresh spillover of the Russia-Ukraine conflict into global energy markets, hitting Kazakhstan's export revenues and the operations of Western oil majors.

Loadings fell to roughly 1.2 million to 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) against a scheduled target, after strikes near the export terminal at Novorossiysk forced repeated suspensions. The CPC pipeline, which carries crude from Kazakhstan to Russia's Black Sea coast, accounts for about 1.8% of global oil supply, making the outage a significant factor in an already tense market.

Operations at the terminal have been interrupted since mid-July. Loadings resumed briefly on Thursday but were halted again on Friday morning, two sources said. Data from analytics firm Kpler and two sources indicate that CPC Blend loadings have averaged about 1.1 million to 1.2 million bpd so far in August, suggesting exports remain below the reduced July level.

Kazakhstan, which depends heavily on the CPC route, saw its oil production drop 14% in July from June, the sources said. Major Western companies operating in the country include Chevron and Exxon Mobil. Russia's Foreign Ministry accused Ukrainian forces of attacking tankers during loading operations and said Kyiv was trying to destabilise global oil markets.

Ukraine has intensified strikes on Russian energy infrastructure but has not claimed responsibility for or commented on the attacks on the CPC facilities, which handle predominantly Kazakh crude. CPC declined to comment on the July and August loadings or the latest disruption.

Kazakhstan has few viable alternative export routes capable of replacing CPC volumes, which typically run between 1.5 million and 1.7 million bpd. The pipeline remains critical for the country's oil sector and government revenue, and any prolonged outage could further tighten global supply balances.