Moscow, November 6. KazMunayGas (KMG) management board chairman Askhat Khasenov met Transneft president Nikolay Tokarev in Moscow and discussed cooperation in oil transportation and transit, KMG’s press service reported.
Khasenov noted the importance of three routes: the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), Atyrau–Samara and Makhachkala–Novorossiysk. In his words, they play an important role in exports of Kazakh hydrocarbons and over the years have proved reliable, efficient and economically justified. Following the meeting, the sides confirmed their readiness to develop the partnership in key areas to strengthen the transit potential of Kazakhstan and Russia.
The announcement names no volumes, tariffs, deadlines or new agreements: in essence, it confirms the existing arrangement. For context: CPC oil reaches world markets as CPC Blend, while the oil Kazakhstan delivers into Transneft’s system moves as KEBCO, which since 2022 has been sold separately from Russia’s Urals blend. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium has been in the spotlight this year: Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov said that without attacks on the CPC, output in 2026 would have reached 101 million tonnes (we reported this on November 5).
What it means: Kazakhstan’s national oil company and the Russian trunk oil pipeline operator confirmed that they are working on the existing routes; the meeting announced no changes to the export scheme.
Who benefits: According to KMG’s announcement, both sides are interested in keeping the transit going: they confirmed their readiness to develop the partnership. For Kazakhstan, as Khasenov said, all three routes matter; what volumes will go through each is not stated in the announcement.
Background: Transneft is the Russian state company that owns almost the entire trunk oil pipeline system of the country. The CPC is a private consortium with Russian, Kazakh and international shareholders; its pipeline links Tengiz with the Russian port of Novorossiysk. Transit is the carriage of cargo through the territory of another country. CPC Blend is a blend of oil from Tengiz, Kashagan and Karachaganak; KEBCO is Kazakh oil in Transneft’s system.
We have also reported that without attacks on the CPC output in 2026 would have reached 101 million tonnes.
