In April 2024, the Kazakh company Inpex North Caspian Sea, a subsidiary of Japan's Inpex, delivered its first batch of oil to Germany via the "Druzhba" pipeline, reports the Russian publication "Vedomosti," citing sources familiar with the statistics of Russia's Ministry of Energy.
Inpex, which holds a 7.56% stake in the development of the Kashagan field, sent about 20,000 tons of oil to Germany. Thus, it became the second company from Kazakhstan to export oil to Germany via the "Druzhba" pipeline.
All of last year, oil was transported from the Karachaganak field via the pipeline. However, it is unknown which company within the "Karachaganak Petroleum Operating B.V." consortium supplied oil to Germany.
Russian oil has not been imported by Germany via the pipeline since early 2023. Instead, in December 2022, "KazTransOil" agreed with "Transneft" to transport 1.2 million tons of Kazakh oil to Germany through "Druzhba." Shipments began in February, with 20,000 tons of oil delivered to the European country. In March, another 20,000 tons of Karachaganak oil were sent to Germany, 50,000 tons in April, and it was only in May that the planned 100,000 tons per month were reached. By the end of the year, the Karachaganak operator supplied 933,000 tons of oil to Germany instead of the planned 1.2 million tons.
In early March 2024, Kazakhstan's Minister of Energy, Almasadam Satkaliyev, reported that the country had begun consultations with Germany to increase oil supplies to German refineries via "Druzhba" to 2 million tons in 2024. Experts noted that Kazakhstan, being restricted in oil production by the OPEC+ agreement, would have to reduce supplies in other directions to achieve this increase.
"Vedomosti" experts pointed out that in 2023, Inpex exported 39,000 tons through Novorossiysk and more than 18,000 tons through Ust-Luga. Since the beginning of 2024, the company has delivered 22,000 tons of oil through Novorossiysk, with no shipments from Ust-Luga.
In addition to Inpex, the shareholders of NCOC, the operator of the Kashagan field, include KMG Kashagan B.V. (16.8%), Shell Kazakhstan Development B.V. (16.8%), Total EP Kazakhstan (16.8%), Agip Caspian Sea B.V. (16.8%), ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Inc. (16.8%), and CNPC Kazakhstan B.V. (8.3%).
The shareholders in Karachaganak include: Eni S.p.A. – 29.25%, Shell Plc – 29.25%, Chevron – 18%, "LUKOIL" – 13.5%, and "KazMunayGas" – 10%.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
May 30, 2024