Ukrainian and international experts analyzing the flows of Russian oil and tankers have identified supplies of oil from Kazakhstan, which they believe contain clandestinely loaded Russian crude, Oleg Ustenko, adviser on economic issues to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said on Friday.
"Experts are tracking energy supply routes, thanks to which "Russia is desperately trying to finance its military machine," according to the official website of the president of Ukraine.
The experts tracking Russian oil use a program to analyze the movements of ships, taking into account various information, including the declared cargo, route, and insurance data, as well as historical models of navigation in different weather and market conditions.
After identifying what they believe is secretly loaded Russian crude with Kazakh oil, the experts sent warnings to relevant governments and companies, as well as to Ukrainian ministries, the Ukrainian Presidential Office said.
Ukraine has been calling for weeks on governments in the EU and on the EU itself to move and sanction Russian oil, arguing that oil revenues are fueling the Russian war in Ukraine.
Crude oil exported from Kazakhstan's CPC terminal moves primarily through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) system, which passes through Russia transporting crude oil produced in Kazakhstan to the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, the EIA says. Some crude oil produced in Russia is transported in the same pipeline as CPC grade crude oil, but it represents around 10 percent of the crude oil exported through the CPC system.
Three weeks ago, crude oil exports from the CPC terminal off the Russian Black Sea coast were halted completely after sustaining "critical" damage, the head of CPC said. The disruption in crude oil exports was the result of major storm damage and continuing bad weather. Last week, exports resumed.
The CPC pipeline carries oil from Kazakhstan's Tengiz oilfield to export infrastructure along the Black Sea coast. Most of the crude oil carried by the CPC pipeline belongs to Russia, Kazakhstan, and international oil majors such as Chevron. It remains a vital crude oil artery for Kazakhstan, accounting for two-thirds of the country's crude oil exports.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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Dr Mamdouh G Salameh
International Oil Economist
Visiting Professor of Energy Economics at ESCP Europe Business School, London