Kazakhstan is facing economic crisis as the war in Ukraine threatens crude oil exports, which alone account for around 14 percent of GDP and 57 percent of exports. The bulk of these oil exports pass through a pipeline from Kazakhstan’s western oil fields through southern Russia to Russia’s Black Sea oil terminal at Novorossiysk. The pipeline, owned by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), can handle around 60 million metric tons a year. (Transneft) At just 200 kilometers from the Ukrainian port of Mariupol, where some of the fiercest fighting is underway, Novorossiysk is close enough for oil tankers to incur a “war risk insurance premium,” which according to energy news agency S&P Global Platts has been high enough to deter buyers since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began last month. Platts reported that shippers have been cancelling scheduled bookings to collect tanker loads of crude from Novorossiysk. One of […]