Ukraine’s Drone War Is Choking Kazakhstan’s Oil Exports

AI Summary

Kazakhstan's oil exports face significant disruptions due to Ukraine's drone war, which is affecting export infrastructure and causing operational failures at Kazakhstan's largest oil fields despite the country being a potential alternative for European refiners avoiding Russian crude.

Kazakhstan should, in theory, be one of the major beneficiaries of Russia’s growing isolation from global energy markets. Its crude is unsanctioned and European refiners need alternatives to Russian barrels. Yet instead of gaining a clear geopolitical advantage, Kazakhstan has found itself exposed to many of the same risks as its northern neighbour: attacks on export infrastructure, disruptions inside Russia and repeated operational failures at its own largest fields. The roots of that vulnerability lie partly in geography and partly in the…