Kazakhstan announced Monday that it will deliver two single-point moorings (SPM) from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the Caspian Pipeline Consortium in January, Kazakh media reported Monday, citing the country’s Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov.
At a news conference in Astana, Akkenzhenov said the delivery of the moorings — offshore loading systems that allow tankers to load oil while anchored at sea — was initially scheduled for April, but that Astana currently planned for delivery in January, according to Kazinform news agency.
"This is complex technological equipment. It requires delivery to the installation site, the port of Novorossiysk," he said.
Akkenzhenov underlined that the oil terminal would restore full capacity after completing work to replace the hoses at SPM-3, adding that weather conditions were complicating repairs.
“The southeasterly wind is very strong, with waves of about two meters, and this wind also creates a current. Divers descend underwater in a special dome. They then emerge from the dome and carry out repairs," he explained.
Divers are also currently working on the repair of SPM-2, which was attacked late last month, Akkenzhenov said, adding that the mooring now had a large hole measuring over two meters across.
“Divers are currently working to restore the buoyancy of this SPM. Next, we'll need to enter the SPM and assess the damage to the process equipment,” he outlined. “If we succeed in carrying out repairs, SPM-2 will also be put back into operation."
Crude oil shipments via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, a major export route carrying Kazakh crude to global markets via Russia’s Black Sea coast, were temporarily halted after a drone attack on its infrastructure near the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk on Nov. 29.
The consortium said in a statement that unmanned boats damaged one of the terminal’s single-point moorings in a morning attack, adding that local Russian authorities had halted “loading and other operations.”
Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry issued a protest over what it described as “another deliberate attack” on the terminal, saying it expects Ukraine to take “effective measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.”
Meanwhile, Russia accused Ukraine of carrying out the attack on the Black Sea port, with Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova calling for condemnation of the incident, arguing that it threatened “freedom of navigation in this waterway."
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi later said Kyiv has taken into account Astana's concerns regarding infrastructure belonging to the consortium, and none of the Ukrainian side’s actions were directed against Kazakhstan or any other third party, stressing that its operations aimed to repel "full-scale Russian aggression."
By Kanyshai Butun
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr
