The Week in Kazakhstan: Double Down

Kazakhstan’s ministry of energy confirmed to Reuters on July 30 that Russian oil producers are in talks to process their crude in Kazakhstani refineries.In recent months, Ukrainian drone strikes have increasingly targeted refineries in Russia, which is now facing a gasoline shortage, and has begun import arrangements with several countries such as India and Belarus.Kazakhstan has had a long-standing ban on fuel exports.The same day, a Ukrainian drone attack in the Black Sea targeted oil tankers loading at the CPC Marine Terminal at the Russian port of Novorossiysk.The Caspian Pipeline Consortium announced on July 30 that it had temporarily stopped operations at the pipeline and terminal; the second such shutdown this month, and the third in 2026.The CPC’s last stoppage, in mid-July, is estimated to have effectively cost Kazakhstan’s government at least $224 million.The pipeline accounts for 80% of the country’s oil exports.On July 28, Chevron’s top managers met with US officials to reportedly lobby Washington into pressuring Ukraine away from attacking its Black Sea-assets. [Read more here.] Elsewhere, another series of Ukrainian drone attacks on warehouses belonging to Wildberries, Russia’s largest e-commerce platform, has prompted the company to seek out alternative storage space in Kazakhstan.On July 29, Russian media outlet Kommersant reported that Wildberries is looking for 100,000 square meters of warehouse space in the country.. In a rare public statement on the conflict, President Kassym-Jomart urged Vladimir Putin on July 25 to “freeze” the fighting with Ukraine and return to the negotiating table.