Kazakhstan Reroutes Oil After Ukrainian Drone Attack on CPC Terminal

Ukrainian naval drones disabled Single Mooring Point 2 (SMP-2) at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) marine terminal near Novorossiysk, Russia, on November 29, 2025. The attack, which the CPC described as a "targeted terrorist attack," rendered the loading device inoperable and forced a temporary halt of oil exports. While emergency systems prevented oil spills and no casualties were reported, the strike severely disrupted a hub that handles approximately 80% of Kazakhstan's oil exports and 1% of global supply.

The Government of Kazakhstan formally protested the strike, characterizing it as an attack on an "exclusively civilian facility" that harmed bilateral relations with Ukraine. In response, the Ukrainian government defended the operation as a legitimate exercise of self-defense intended to weaken Russia's military-industrial potential. Russia condemned the incident as an act of terrorism supported by Western intelligence.

To mitigate the disruption, the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan activated contingency plans to redirect crude oil from the Kashagan, Tengiz, and Karachaganak fields. Redirected volumes include increased shipments to China via the Atasu-Alashankou pipeline, higher volumes through the Atyrau-Samara system, and increased transit via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. Despite a temporary production reduction of 480,000 tons, Kazakhstan maintains it will meet its 2025 production target of 96.2 million tonnes once the terminal returns to normal capacity.