Kazakhstan resumed oil exports through the Atyrau–Samara pipeline on November 3, a day after a drone attack on a Russian transit hub halted pumping, reported The Times of Central Asia, citing the Kazkah Ministry of Energy.
The attack hit facilities of the Samara Production and Dispatch Centre in Russia, and oil transport stopped at 6:09 a.m. Astana time on November 2. Pumping resumed after a technical inspection, and no injuries were reported. “As of November 3, 2026, oil transportation through the Atyrau–Samara trunk pipeline is operating normally,” ministry spokesperson Assel Serikpayeva said.
Atyrau–Samara is Kazakhstan’s second-largest export route after the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC). According to KazTransOil, it carried about 9.2 million tonnes in 2025 and 7.57 million tonnes in the first nine months of 2026.
The incident is the latest in a series of disruptions to Kazakh exports. CPC, which carried about 80% of the country’s oil exports in 2025, came under drone attacks in July and September. In August, the government cut its annual production plan from 98 to 96 million tonnes.
Astana is expanding alternative routes, but energy analyst Umud Shokri describes the Azerbaijan–Türkiye route as “a practical backup, not a near-term replacement for the CPC”. Shipments towards the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline reached 1.16 million tonnes in nine months, against a full-year target of 1.7 million.
CentralasianLIGHT.org,
November 3, 2026