Kazakhstan raises alarm over Black Sea tanker attacks, warning of risks to European energy security

[ad_1] Kazakhstan has expressed concern over a sequence of drone assaults on oil tankers within the Black Sea, warning that the incidents pose rising dangers to maritime security and European vitality safety.

In an announcement issued this week, the Ministry of Overseas Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan stated that three tankers en path to the marine terminal of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) had been attacked by unmanned aerial automobiles on 13 January 2026. The ministry burdened that Kazakhstan is just not a celebration to any armed battle and underlined its position as a dependable provider of vitality to worldwide markets.

In response to the authorities, the vessels concerned held all required permits and had been outfitted with normal identification techniques. No casualties had been reported, though harm to the ships was recorded. Following the incidents, Kazakhstan held pressing consultations with ambassadors of a number of European international locations, in addition to representatives of the US and different worldwide companions, calling for coordinated measures to safeguard hydrocarbon transportation routes according to worldwide regulation.

A crucial export hall

The CPC is the principal export route for Kazakhstan’s oil, connecting the nation’s main producing areas in western Kazakhstan with worldwide markets through the Black Sea. The pipeline runs for roughly 1,500 kilometres to the CPC Marine Terminal close to Novorossiysk, the place crude oil is loaded onto tankers for onward cargo.

It's operated as a world consortium, reflecting its position as a cross-border, civilian vitality infrastructure serving world markets. Beneath regular working situations, CPC carries round 80% of Kazakhstan’s whole crude exports, making it the spine of the nation’s oil sector and a key provide route for Europe.

The pipeline transports oil from Kazakhstan’s largest producing fields, together with Tengiz, Kashagan and Karachaganak. These property are central to the portfolios of main worldwide vitality corporations, together with US-based Chevron and ExxonMobil, in addition to European teams equivalent to ENI, Shell and TotalEnergies. Analysts estimate cumulative free money move from these tasks at greater than $50 billion over the interval 2025–2030, with roughly 20–25% of the confirmed reserves of some operators concentrated in Kazakhstan.

Relevance for Europe

Europe is a significant vacation spot for Kazakh crude exported through the CPC system. Lately, Kazakhstan has ranked among the many EU’s largest exterior suppliers of oil, exporting round a million barrels per day to the bloc. In 2024, roughly 11.5% of whole EU crude oil imports – roughly one in each 9 barrels – originated from Kazakhstan, most of it shipped from the Black Sea. In response to Eurostat, after Norway and the U.S., Kazakhstan ranked because the third largest importer of oil into the EU, at 12.2% within the third quarter of 2025.

Vitality specialists be aware that CPC Mix, the crude grade loaded on the Novorossiysk terminal, is extensively utilized by European refineries and can't simply get replaced with different provides within the brief time period. Disruptions affecting the CPC route due to this fact are inclined to translate rapidly into tighter provide situations, greater freight and insurance coverage prices, and elevated market volatility.

Sample of disruption

The January tanker assaults come amid a broader sample of disruptions linked to CPC infrastructure over the previous 12 months. These have included drone strikes on pumping stations, harm to terminal amenities, and non permanent suspensions of loading operations throughout safety alerts, compounded at instances by hostile climate situations.

Kazakh officers argue that the rising frequency of such incidents underscores wider dangers to civilian vitality infrastructure and freedom of navigation within the Black Sea. Lowered throughput on the CPC route has already affected export volumes, regardless of the civilian and worldwide nature of the provides concerned.

Diplomatic method

Astana has emphasised that CPC infrastructure and related delivery are civilian amenities protected underneath worldwide regulation. The federal government has lodged formal protests by means of diplomatic channels over assaults on CPC-related infrastructure and reiterated its desire for de-escalation and dialogue.

“Kazakhstan stays dedicated to the rule of regulation, freedom of navigation and uninterrupted civilian commerce,” the overseas ministry stated, including that disruptions to worldwide vitality provide chains have an effect on not solely Kazakh producers but in addition customers and economies throughout Europe and past.

Whereas the statements cease wanting attributing duty for the assaults, they underline Kazakhstan’s name for nearer cooperation amongst worldwide companions to stop additional incidents and to safeguard key maritime vitality routes.

For European policymakers, the developments spotlight the continued vulnerability of crucial vitality corridors at a time when safety of provide and market stability stay central to the EU’s financial and strategic priorities.