ASTANA, December 11. /TASS/. Kazakhstan's oil production losses following the Ukrainian drone attack on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) infrastructure have reached 480,000 tons, the republic's Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov said.
"Absolutely," he told reporters when asked whether the attack had affected production levels. "[Losses] have already reached 480,000 tons for the entire period since the latest attack on CPC," the minister said. Speaking about production plans for the year, the minister assured that they "will be fulfilled."
"There's no alternative to the CPC. We planned to pump a record volume this year, 72 mln [tons], by the way. If we reach somewhere around 68 [mln tons], that would, of course, be good," he said.
Akkenzhenov described the damage to the tanker's single-point mooring as minor. "The consortium is working to restore buoyancy; once it's restored, it will be clear whether it can be repaired or not. The damage was too extensive, the hole is three meters by two and a half [meters]," he said. Another mooring facility, which is undergoing scheduled repairs, is planned to be put into operation by December 15, the official noted.
On November 29, one of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s moorings near Novorossiysk was struck by unmanned boats. After the attack, Kazakhstan redirected oil supplies to other routes. The country’s Foreign Ministry expressed a protest, saying it saw the attack on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s infrastructure as an action harming bilateral relations with Ukraine.