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(Bloomberg) — Kazakhstan will cut crude exports from a key Russian Black Sea port next month at a time when European refineries are already grappling with an unprecedented supply disruption from the Middle East.
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Maintenance at the Kashagan oil field means that loadings of CPC Blend, which include a small fraction of Russian-origin crude, are set to fall to 1.3 million-1.4 million barrels a day in June, people with knowledge of the plan said, asking not to be named as they are not authorized to comment publicly. That compares with a near-record 1.7 million barrels a day planned for May.
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Kazakhstan is the second-largest crude supplier to Europe, where refineries have sought to replace flows from the Persian Gulf since the Iran war brought shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to a near-halt. The upheaval has sent jet fuel prices surging and led European airlines to cut flights, raising fears of a chaotic summer travel season as the US-Iran deadlock persists.
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Prices for crude cargoes have skyrocketed, with CPC Blend trading at a record premium of $7.75 a barrel to the Dated Brent benchmark in early April, compared with a discount of $3 to $4 before the war. Although global physical crude prices have eased recently, CPC is still trading at about $5 a barrel above the benchmark for spot cargoes, according to traders involved in the market.
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The planned maintenance at Kashagan, Kazakhstan’s second-largest oil field, is expected to last from the end of May through late June, the people said.
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The press office for the operator of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which ships crude from Kazakhstan to Russia’s Black Sea coast, didn’t immediately comment. Kazakhstan’s energy ministry also didn’t comment.
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Oil produced in Kazakhstan makes up more than 90% of CPC cargoes, with Russia-origin crude accounting for only about 100,000 barrels a day in recent months. The Kashagan venture produced about 390,000 barrels a day in 2025, according to Bloomberg calculations.
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About 80% of Kazakhstan’s oil exports are shipped via the CPC system.
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—With assistance from Julian Lee.
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English (US)