Kazakhstan Faces Political Pressure To Diversify Its Oil Export Routes

Astana is upbeat about boosting oil exports, despite caveats over how the war in Ukraine may impact markets and questions about its recently launched shipments to Europe. Kazakhstan plans to increase oil supplies via its main export pipeline to Russia by over a third by the end of next year, Energy Minister Bolat Akchulakov said this week during an industry conference in Texas. That is fighting talk, given the troubles that have beset the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, whose supplies were halted four times last year. Official explanations for…