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Reports have appeared that Russian oil and oil products are coming to Ukraine. They are allegedly transported by tankers from Novorossiysk to the Moldovan port of Giurgiurlesti on the Danube, which borders Ukraine. Specifically, Heather IMO 9514456, a petrochemical tanker with a cargo of diesel and oil products, was documented passing this route, having finished loading in Novorossiysk on April 17 and arrived in the Moldovan port on April 21.
There is speculation that Putin’s meetings with Tokarev, head of Transneft, and the hour-and-a-half conversation with Alekperov, president of Lukoil, after which the latter announced his abrupt resignation, may be related to these circumstances.
In March and the first half of April, oil shipments through CPC (Caspian Pipeline Consortium) terminals in Novorossiysk increased compared with the same period last year by 13.5%, to about 6 million tons. The largest shareholder of CPC, controlling its management, is Transneft (24%) and Kazakhstan’s Kazmunaigas (19%). Corporations from countries unfriendly to Russia – Chevron, and Mobil – also own shares. Given the declared special position of Kazakhstan, a member of the EEU and the CSTO, concerning the Russian Special Military Operation in Ukraine, including the growing anti-Russian statements and actions of its officials, it is highly likely that part of its exports (5 million tons per month through Novorossiysk), Kazakhstan sends bypassing routes to eliminate acute fuel shortages in the SSO. This is how the Kazakhstani authorities demonstrate their loyalty to the United States, Canada, Australia, and the EU, whose corporations control the republic’s resource industries.
The Novorossiysk oil port and the CPC sea terminal are the most important transshipment points for Lukoil, which uses this route to export oil (about 5 million tons per year) and oil products for its network of gas stations in Eastern Europe, including Romania and Moldova. This makes it possible to stealthily direct part of the supplies to Ukraine. Such a scheme, according to Ukrainian sources, was developed by Kolomoisky, who receives 17 dollars from each ton of hydrocarbons crossing the Moldovan-Ukrainian border. Kolomoisky, referring to his connections in the Russian and American establishment, convinced the actors of this combination that he could protect them from Western sanctions. This may be referring to their support of Ukraine in the EIA. Another factor that testifies in favor of this version is possible lobbying actions of the Russian-Ukrainian oligarchy (Abramovich, Kolomoisky) to prevent the destruction of railway bridges in western Ukraine, including in the areas bordering Moldova.
This situation actualizes the need to nationalize the CPC by the latest decisions of the Russian authorities and to consider blocking Kazakhstan’s oil exports. The status of Lukoil, which has received state preferences and benefits, including for the development of Caspian fields, will be analyzed before the annual shareholders’ meeting, which is scheduled for the end of May.
