Kiev reportedly vowed to refrain from strikes on CPC infrastructure whose shareholders include Chevron and ExxonMobil
Ukraine has promised not to strike some non-Russian oil tankers or the internationally owned Black Sea pipeline terminal used to transport Kazakh crude to Europe and Asia, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing a US official familiar with the matter.
Both the US and Kazakhstan have protested attacks on Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) infrastructure in the Russian port of Novorossiysk, where oil transported through the pipeline is loaded onto tankers. CPC shareholders include companies from Russia, Kazakhstan, Western Europe, and the US, such as Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Shell. The CPC accounts for about 80% of Kazakhstan’s oil exports, according to Bloomberg.
Ukrainian drones first struck the terminal in February and continued their raids throughout the year, culminating in attacks last month that prompted ships chartered by US companies to stop loading.
Under the agreement reportedly reached with the US, Ukraine promised to refrain from targeting CPC infrastructure and ships that are not on Ukraine’s sanctions list and are not carrying Russian cargo.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Chevron CEO Mike Wirth asked the White House last month to protect the company’s operations in the region.
The attacks on shipping came as the Strait of Hormuz, which handles around a quarter of global seaborne oil and LNG trade, remains largely closed due to the US war with Iran, driving up prices. On July 25, Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who control territory near another important shipping chokepoint in the Red Sea, declared a blockade of Saudi Arabia, further raising concerns over energy supplies.
The war in the Middle East has largely sidelined Trump’s efforts to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine. In a diplomatic blow to Kiev, Trump recently walked back his earlier promise to grant Ukraine a license to produce Patriot air defense missiles and rebuffed Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s request for more interceptors. The rebuff came as US ammunition stockpiles have reportedly been depleted by Trump’s war with Iran.
