CPC pipeline is operational and ships are loading, Chevron CEO says
CVX•CPC pipeline flowing and loadings resuming
July 31 (Reuters) - The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) pipeline is currently flowing and ships are loading this week, the CEO of Chevron CVX.N said on an earnings call on Friday.
CPC, quoted by Russian news agency Interfax, said on Thursday it had suspended oil loadings following a drone attack on a tanker. Vessels expected to load oil from the CPC terminal turned away from the port on Thursday after CPC said another tanker had been attacked while loading at the port.
The CPC pipeline, which exports almost 2% of global oil, is the main route for Kazakhstan's oil exports, starting from the giant Tengiz oil field and ending at the Russian Black Sea terminal of Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka near Novorossiysk.
Chevron owns 50% of Tengizchevroil company - the operator of Tengiz and the major exporter via the CPC pipeline.
Industry sources say loadings could continue
Two industry sources said on Friday that CPC oil loadings could be resumed later in the day. One added that the single point mooring 3 (SPM-3) at the CPC terminal will be loading a tanker on Friday.
CPC declined to comment on the matter.
The second source said two more tankers are expected to be loaded at the CPC terminal on Saturday.
Earlier this week, CPC said that loadings had been restored after a one-week suspension, adding that the tankers fixed by Chevron had arrived for loading.
Kazakhstan has more than halved its daily oil output after the closure of the CPC terminal – its main oil export route.
