Kazakhstan has reiterated that no existing route can replace the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which carries more than 80% of the country's crude oil exports through Russia to the Black Sea.
Speaking at the Fifth Eurasian Economic Forum on 28 May, Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov said no comparable infrastructure currently exists to transport the 60–70 million tonnes of oil Kazakhstan exports annually through the system.
“There is no alternative to this pipeline at present,” Akkenzhenov said.
“There is simply no other pipeline capable of transporting these volumes from Kazakhstan to international markets.”
His remarks come as Kazakhstan continues to expand additional export channels alongside CPC, while acknowledging that none can match the scale of the country's principal oil export route.
The corridor has faced periodic disruptions in recent years. In February 2025, a drone strike damaged the Kropotkinskaya pumping station in southern Russia, part of the CPC system, briefly raising concerns about potential interruptions to oil flows. Kazakhstan said at the time that exports continued without disruption.
Alongside CPC, Kazakhstan exports smaller volumes through the Kazakhstan–China pipeline, the Aktau–Makhachkala route and maritime shipments across the Caspian Sea.
Particular attention is focused on Azerbaijan. Kazakhstan plans to supply 2.2 million tonnes of crude oil to the country, with volumes potentially rising to 3 million tonnes, according to Akkenzhenov. He said infrastructure at the port of Aktau and available shipping capacity on the Caspian Sea would support additional deliveries.
Azerbaijan is prepared to receive larger volumes of Kazakh crude, the minister said, although any increase would depend on transport costs and broader commercial conditions.
Kazakhstan is also seeking to expand supplies through the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, with discussions on reducing transport costs continuing.
Akkenzhenov added that Kazakhstan would consider the Baku–Supsa route if it proved commercially viable, although no formal negotiations with Azerbaijan have yet taken place.
The pipeline, which links the Sangachal terminal near Baku with Georgia's Black Sea port of Supsa, has an annual capacity of around 7 million tonnes but has remained inactive since spring 2022.
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Delegations from Russia, Ukraine and the United States met in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday for their first formal talks in nine months. They did so with no agreement on what a ceasefire would be tied to or who gets to keep the land currently under Russian control.
At least 17 people have been reported killed in an explosion at a steel plant in western Türkiye, after a crane collapsed during maintenance work. The disaster has prompted a criminal investigation into what went wrong at the industrial facility.
U.S. envoy Jared Kushner said Washington believes the Russian President is prepared to reach a peace agreement under the right conditions, as U.S., Russian and Ukrainian delegations began trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday 10 November.
Armenia could lose its voting rights within the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) on 11 November after failing to pay membership fees for more than two years, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.
Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for 11 November. Today, we cover Russia-Ukraine peace talks, political tensions in Washington, strikes in Spain, espionage allegations involving Nvidia's CEO, and climate negotiations at COP31 in Türkiye.
Pakistan is pushing for urgent global action and greater climate funding as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attends COP31 in Türkiye, warning that melting glaciers, devastating floods and extreme heat are putting millions of lives and livelihoods at risk.
Armenia has lost its voting rights and the ability to nominate officials for certain posts within the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). The decision was taken at a summit in Moscow on 11 November, amid years of strained relations between Yerevan and the alliance.
Heavy rain and strong winds have flooded around 70,000 tents across Gaza, leaving displaced Palestinian families exposed to cold, hunger and worsening living conditions as winter approaches, according to local authorities.
Trade along the Middle Corridor is accelerating, opening new opportunities for Central Asia and the South Caucasus as countries strengthen transport links between China and Europe. Cargo volumes reached around 4.7 million tonnes in 2025, up from less than one million tonnes in 2021.
Kazakhstan says the North Aral Sea’s water volume has risen by 24 per cent since 2022, reaching 23.4 billion cubic metres. The figures were unveiled at the COP31 climate conference in Antalya, Türkiye, as the country outlined ambitious plans to accelerate restoration.
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