Reuters: Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan in talks to pipe 5 million tons of oil

Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are in talks to pipe 5 million tons of Kazakh crude oil via the Baku-Supsa pipeline this year, three sources familiar with the talks told Reuters on Friday, as Astana looks to ease its dependence on transit via Russia.

The aforesaid oil may come from the giant Kashagan field on the Kazakh shelf of the Caspian Sea, one of the sources said.

Azerbaijan has made the offer, and the sides are now discussing the details.

Kazakhstan, which pipes most of its oil to Europe via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium link which crosses Russia, is trying to diversify its respective routes due to the Ukrainian conflict.

It has already started piping oil via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline which originates in Azerbaijan.