Russia Cuts Crude Flow From Kazakhstan’s Main Pipeline After Supporting Shipment To Europe
By Javier G. Cuesta, from Moscow. The cracks between Russia and its partner Kazakhstan are widening. A Russian court has ordered the suspension of the passage of oil through the only Kazakh pipeline that connects the country with the European Union just after the country began to process a law to enforce international sanctions imposed on the Slavic country and its president, Kassym- Jomart Tokáyev, promised Brussels to do everything possible to lower the price of oil.
The Novorossiysk court has ordered to block the flow of crude oil for a month for alleged technical reasons. Specifically, in March the Caspian Pipeline Consortium was asked to prepare a plan against spills, and in June the supervisory body Rostransnadzor indicated alleged inaccuracies in the documents. Despite the fact that the company emphasizes that it had until November 30 to review these points, the Russian body requested a complete stoppage of the pipeline’s activity.
The pipeline crosses southern Russia on its way to the Black Sea. Its blockade represents a severe economic blow for Kazakhstan, since it is its main way to export oil: more than 80% of the crude oil pumped by the Central Asian country passes through its pipelines. In addition, this Wednesday there was an explosion in one of the largest oil fields in the country, Tengiz, when a hydraulic test was being carried out on a pipeline, according to Forbes.
The court decision was announced just one day after Kassym-Jomart Tokáyev promised by telephone to the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, that “Kazakhstan’s hydrocarbon potential will be available to stabilize the situation in international and European markets.” According to its Executive, the country is interested in promoting other pipelines that bypass Russia, such as the Caspian pipeline, and “strengthen ties with the European Union, Kazakhstan’s largest trading partner.”
The Tokayev government was supported militarily by the Kremlin during the protests that sparked across much of the country in January over rising fuel prices for cars. However, a month later the offensive on Ukraine began and his executive has positioned himself both in favor of complying with the sanctions against Russia and against recognizing the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk.
The Ministry of Finance of Kazakhstan has promoted a bill to prohibit products that have been banned from the Slavic country from crossing the border with Russia. When asked about it, Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, tried to avoid the issue on Wednesday by stating that “no decisions have been made so far” in Nur-Sultan.
On the other hand, in the colloquium between Putin and Tokáyev at the International Economic Forum in Saint Petersburg, the Kazakh leader reaffirmed himself in his presence by denying the independence of eastern Ukraine. “The two basic principles of the UN Charter have come into conflict: the territorial integrity of States and the right to self-determination,” explained the president to justify that if the latter is applied, “instead of the 193 Member States from the UN, 500 or 600 will emerge, and it will be chaos.”
This is the third time that Russia has paralyzed the pipeline this year, according to the Eurasianet portal. In March, a review was carried out after some storms in which shareholders such as Chevron and Exxon could not participate, and in June its activity was suspended again after the Russian authorities announced the discovery of a Second World War projectile in its vicinity. .