Kazakhstan News

Oil prices eased about 1% to a one-week low on Tuesday on demand worries following the release of negative economic news from Germany and China, while investors remained cautious ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve decision on interest rates.Brent futures fell 90 cents, or 1.2%, to $73.01 a barrel by 1:36 p.m. EST (1836 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 86 cents, or 1.2%, to $69.85. That puts both crude benchmarks on track for their lowest closes since Dec. 10 and cut the premium of Brent over WTI to a 12-week low of $3.56 a barrel…

The mayor of the Russian Black Sea port city of Novorossiisk issued a sea drone alert on Thursday morning, he said on the Telegram messaging app.Mayor Andrei Kravchenko urged locals to stay away from the shoreline. Ukrainian sea drones have in the past attacked Russian ships near the port, disrupting traffic.Novorossiisk is Russia's largest Black Sea port and a key outlet for crude oil and oil product exports in Russia's south.

Freight rates to ship Russian oil have fallen this month towards parity with those for other global exporters for the first time since 2022 as more tankers were available despite Western sanctions and exports fell, three sources said on Wednesday.Freight rates to ship Russian oil soared to more than $20 million per voyage in 2022 after the West imposed sanctions and a $60 dollar price cap to try to limit Russian export revenues.The sources who asked not to be named because they…

OPEC+ agreed on Sunday to extend most of its deep oil output cuts well into 2025 as the group seeks to shore up the market amid tepid demand growth, high interest rates and rising rival U.S. production.Brent crude oil prices LCOc1 have been trading near $80 per barrel in recent days, below what many OPEC+ members need to balance their budgets. Worries over slow demand growth in top oil importer China have weighed on prices alongside rising oil stocks in developed economies.The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia…

Israel plans to allow more oil tankers to dock at a Red Sea port in Eilat despite environmental risks, as it strives to maintain energy security amid conflict on multiple fronts, according to Israeli officials and government documents.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office wants to revoke restrictions on the amount of oil that can be unloaded at a jetty in the city, which sits in the middle of a string of resorts and beaches and is adjacent to a fragile coral reef.The curbs…

So far, the Israel-Hamas conflict has had limited impact on the global economy. However, an escalation to a direct war between Israel and Iran, could result in oil prices rising to $150 a barrel and global output cut by $1 trillion, according to a new analysis by Bloomberg Intelligence (BI) and Bloomberg Economics (BE).The new study from BI and BE – Middle East Energy Scenarios – looks in detail at four broad scenarios and their potential impact on global GDP and inflation, from a sustained ceasefire to a confined conflict…

Global oil benchmark Brent on Tuesday rose above $89 a barrel for the first time since October, albeit briefly, as oil supplies faced fresh threats from Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy facilities and escalating conflict in the Middle East.Brent futures for June delivery were up $1.35, or 1.5%, at $88.76 a barrel by 11:40 a.m. EDT (1540 GMT) after touching a peak of $89.08.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for May rose $1.27, or about 1.5%, to $84.98 after touching a peak of $85.46…

Chevron is sending cargoes of Kazakhstan's CPC Blend oil to Asia around Africa's Cape of Good Hope rather than via the Red Sea to avoid the risk of attacks by Yemen’s Houthis, according to three industry sources and LSEG ship-tracking data.The Iranian-aligned Houthis have stepped up attacks on shipping despite U.S.-led air strikes on the group's positions in Yemen, leading more vessels to avoid using the Red Sea and the Suez Canal - the shortest sea route between Europe and Asia.CPC Blend crude is loaded at the Russian Black Sea terminal of Yuzhnaya Ozereevka, near Novorossisk.

Oil loadings from Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiisk have resumed after being suspended due to a storm on Dec. 27, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday.The port will likely be able to ship all the crude volumes scheduled for December, as the weather has improved, the sources added.Oil loadings from Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiisk were suspended on Wednesday.

Every day, nearly 60 fully loaded very large crude-oil carriers sail between the Persian Gulf and Chinese ports, carrying about half of the oil that powers the world's second-largest economy.As the vessels enter the South China Sea, they ply waters increasingly controlled by China's growing military, from the missile batteries and airfields at its bases on disputed islands to its stealthy Type 055 destroyers.But when crossing the Indian Ocean, joined by others headed to China from Africa and Brazil…

Speaking after the November 30 OPEC+ meeting, Ann-Louise Hittle, vice president, Macro Oils, at Wood Mackenzie, said: “The decision by OPEC+ to continue with its previously announced production cuts and Saudi/Russia to extend their voluntary production cuts to the end of Q1 2024 is not a surprise, given current pricing and the uncertainty in the market over the strength of the global economy and oil demand growth. What is new is the additional voluntary cuts for Q1 2024 and announced by several OPEC+ producers.”  The full tally of the additional cuts has not yet been announced…

Russia's Novorossiisk port resumed oil loadings after a severe storm on Thursday, two sources familiar with the port's operations told Reuters.The loadings started as the weather conditions improved after the storm had suspended exports since last week, one of the sources said.The nearby Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal, a main export route for Kazakhstan's crude oil, said on Thursday it had also resumed oil loadings.(Reuters - Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

Oil loadings from the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk and the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal have not resumed due to an ongoing storm forcing exporters to look for alternative routes, three sources familiar with exports told Reuters on Wednesday.Novorossiysk and the CPC terminal account for about 2 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) from Russia and Kazakhstan."A storm warning is in effect in Novorossiysk. It is raining, and the wave height is from two to four meters…

A severe storm in the Black Sea region has disrupted up to 2 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil exports from Kazakhtsan and Russia, according to state's officials and port agent data.Oil loadings from Novorossiysk and the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal in nearby Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka have been suspended since last week.Kazakhstan's largest oilfields - Tengiz, Kashagan and Karachaganak - are cutting combined daily oil output by 56% from November 27 as the storm disrupts loadings at CPC…

AD Ports Group in collaboration with KazMorTransFlot (KMTF), the national shipping company of Kazakhstan, has announced the acquisition and commencement of operations of two tankers designed for the transportation of Kazakhstan's oil across the Caspian Sea.The two oil tankers were named Liwa and Taraz - after ancient cities in the UAE and Kazakhstan, respectively, and have been acquired under AD Ports Group’s joint venture with KMTF - Caspian Integrated Maritime Solutions (CIMS).The two vessels represent a combined investment of USD35 million…

Aug 18 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan could redirect oil exports to Russia's Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga instead of Novorossiysk, if the situation on the Black Sea deteriorates, the head of Kaztransoil's transport department said on Friday.Kaztransoil's Abay Beisembaev said during an online briefing: "If the situation in the Black Sea worsens, the volumes that we transport in the direction of the port of Sheskharis (in Novorossiysk) will be transferred to the port of Ust-Luga." Novorossiysk…

Russia's Black Sea port of Taman is poised to suspend exports of highly-explosive liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) because of concerns linked to drone attacks, three sources with knowledge of the situation told Reuters on Friday. Russia has come under repeated attack in recent weeks, suffering a major cross-border incursion and drone attacks including on Moscow, oil refineries in southern Russia and a fuel depot near a strategic bridge that links Russia's mainland with Crimea. Russia says Ukraine was behind the attacks, including on the Kremlin last month. Kyiv denies it.

The clear winner in the race to replace Russian oil at Europe's refineries is Norway's Johan Sverdrup crude, according to Refinitiv Eikon data and traders.Johan Sverdrup was launched in 2019, making it a relative newcomer compared to Russia's Urals grade.Initially sold mostly to Asia, an EU ban on Russian seaborne oil imports imposed in December has opened up the European market where the medium sour grade has become a primary feedstock for refiners in countries such as Germany…

Several tankers loaded with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) have been unable to cross under Russia's Crimea bridge due to security restrictions, traders said on Friday, prompting suppliers to use other routes out of Russia.The 12-mile (19 km) road and rail bridge, which was personally opened by President Vladimir Putin in 2018, was bombed in October in an attack Russia said was carried out by Ukraine. The bridge spans the Kerch Strait linking the Black Sea with the smaller Azov sea. Kyiv never claimed responsibility for the bombing of the bridge on the morning of Oct. 8, a day after Putin's 70th birthday. Russia's Federal Security Service said the attack was organized by Ukrainian military intelligence.

Western oil tankers ramped up their shipments of Russian crude in January as prices for Moscow's flagship Urals grade held below an international price cap, according to market sources and Eikon data.The Group of Seven nations (G7), Australia and the 27 European Union countries placed a price limit on Russian crude oil of $60 per barrel on Dec. 5.The cap allows non-EU countries to import seaborne Russian crude oil, but prohibits Western shipping and insurance companies from handling…

Europe's ban on seaborne Russian oil imports from Dec. 5 has prompted Moscow to divert its crude flows to Asia and failed to curb Russian supplies, according to traders and data from Refinitiv Eikon.Supplies of oil from Russia and Kazakhstan from the Baltic Sea ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk rose in the first half of January to 3.4 million tonnes from 2.5 million tonnes in the same period of December.That includes 3.1 million tonnes of Russian oil, up 35% from 2.3 million tonnes in the corresponding period of December…

United Arab Emirates' Abu Dhabi Ports will help Kazakhstan to build a tanker fleet in the Caspian Sea, reducing the former Soviet republic's dependence on Russian transit, Kazakh state oil company KazMunayGaz said on Tuesday.KazMunayGaz and Abu Dhabi Ports have agreed to set up a joint venture, it said, adding that it will also help to support offshore upstream projects and look into buying container ferries and dry bulk carriers.Kazakhstan ships most of its crude to Europe by…

Russia is concerned about a build-up of oil tankers in the Bosphorus Strait and is discussing the issue with insurance and transport companies, RIA cited Russian deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko as saying on Wednesday.At least 20 oil tankers queuing off Turkey face more delays to cross from Russia's Black Sea ports to the Mediterranean as operators race to adhere to new Turkish insurance rules added ahead of Europe's ship insurance ban and a G7 price cap on Russian oil…