Kazakhstan Redirects Oil Shipments Following Suspension of Exports via Ust-Luga
Since September 2026, Kazakhstan has temporarily halted oil shipments through the Russian port of Ust-Luga. The country's Ministry of Energy attributed the pause to technical issues in the transit pipeline system and stated that the agreed volumes are being routed through alternative pathways.
A representative of Kazakhstan's Ministry of Energy, Asel Serikpayeva, told Interfax that the agreements between the parties on shipment volumes remain in place. According to her, the drone incident at the port on the night of November 11 did not affect the transportation and export of Kazakh oil. By that time, shipments via Ust-Luga had already been suspended.
On November 5, Kazakhstan's Ministry of Energy announced that it had requested the Russian side to resume shipments via Ust-Luga and pumping through the Druzhba oil pipeline. Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov stated that no response to the request had been received by November 10. The timeline for resuming shipments through the port has not yet been announced.
Kazakh oil was delivered to Ust-Luga via the Uzen-Atyrau-Samara pipeline and further through the Russian pipeline system. According to KazTransOil, 1.958 million tonnes of crude were shipped toward the port from January to October 2026. This figure represents the cumulative total for ten months, including shipments made before the September suspension.
