UK Specifies Kazakh Oil Will Be Excluded From Transneft Sanctions

The Russian transport company, which pumps Kazakhstan’s main export westwards, recently came under British sanction

The UK government explicitly excluded oil originating from Kazakhstan from its sanction list on March 19, granting it a “general license” to allow it to be transported by Transneft, Russia’s pipeline operator, free of any restrictions.

Transneft had been included in British sanctions for the first time on February 24, when the UK Government published its “biggest” sanctions package against Russian companies yet to mark the four year anniversary of the start of Russia’ War in Ukraine.

The general license helps further secure Kazakhstan’s oil exports, which primarily transit through Transneft’s network of pipelines and ports.

Around 80% of Kazakhstan’s exports are pumped through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, part-owned by Transneft, and shipped through Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, which Transneft also partially owns. Smaller quantities of Kazakh oil are transported through eastern Europe to Germany via the Druzhba pipeline, which Transneft controls.

Crucially, both pipelines have so far been excluded from Western sanctions against Russia due to their critical role in serving Europe’s energy needs. The UK government’s new explicit exclusion regarding Kazakh oil may therefore be to allow easier oil transport via Russia’s Ust-Luga port on the Baltic Sea.

Oil from Kazakhstan has been long excluded from Western sanctions. The European Union sanction envoy David O’Sullivan said that Kazakh oil will not fall under the EU’s forthcoming 20th sanctions package.

Sign up for our English-language newsletter.

Власть — это независимое медиа в Казахстане.
Поддержите журналистику, которой доверяют.
Мы верим, что справедливое общество невозможно построить без независимой журналистики и достоверной информации. Наша редакция работает над тем чтобы правда была доступна для наших читателей на фоне большой волны фейков, манипуляций и пропаганды. Поддержите Власть.
Поддержать Власть