Astana, Jul 19 (EFE).- Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday condemned the drone attack carried out earlier in the day against the terminal of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) at the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk.
Referring to Sunday’s strike and a previous attack on Friday, Kazakhstan described the violation of its economic interests as unacceptable. The largest country in Central Asia denounced attempts to destabilize international trade and global energy markets.
The ministry called on all countries participating in the CPC to condemn the attacks, demanded that they cease immediately, and urged measures to guarantee the security of the infrastructure used to export Kazakh hydrocarbons.
Astana also stressed that there is no alternative to the peaceful resolution of conflicts, in a reference to the war in Ukraine. It reaffirmed Kazakhstan’s commitment to the principles of international law, freedom of navigation and the reliable operation of transportation, logistics and energy routes.
According to the CPC, the attack caused a fire aboard the oil tanker ASIA, owned by U.S. energy company Chevron. The consortium’s emergency response team extinguished the fire, the company said in a statement.
The consortium added that there were no injuries among the international crews of either the ASIA or the NISSOS IOS, which were moored at the terminal and sail under the flags of Liberia and the Marshall Islands, respectively. It also said there were no oil leaks or spills into the sea.
The attack occurred while Kazakh oil was being pumped for export, forcing operations to be suspended indefinitely for security reasons.
Fifth direct act of aggression
The statement described the incident as “the fifth direct act of aggression” against a civilian CPC facility protected under international law, while emphasizing the pipeline’s key role in ensuring global energy security.
The CPC transports crude oil from three major Kazakh oil fields to the Black Sea for shipment to international markets. Chevron, ExxonMobil, Eni, and Shell are some of the companies involved in exporting the products. EFE