Kazakhstan and Turkey Eye New Oil Route Bypassing Russia

On Tuesday, July 29, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan discussed a possible increase in Kazakh oil exports via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline, The Gaze reports, citing Reuters.

The agenda of Tokayev's visit to Turkey also included cooperation in energy, agriculture, and mining.

"The delegations discussed issues of cooperation in the energy sector, including prospects for increasing exports via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline," the statement said.

In the first half of 2025, Kazakhstan increased oil exports via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline by 12%, reaching 785,000 tons. This oil is transported by tankers across the Caspian Sea from the port of Aktau, which, however, needs modernization. In addition, the volume of exports via BTC is limited by the quality requirements of Kazakh oil.

Kazakhstan, having its main income from oil exports, is landlocked, and the two main routes for exporting its oil to international markets pass through Russia to its ports on the Black Sea and the Baltic.

Kazakhstani oil exports bypassing Russian ports reportedly amounted to only 5.9% of total exports in the first 6 months of 2025, and this share has remained unchanged since 2024.

It is worth recalling that in 2022, President Tokayev called for increased oil exports bypassing Russia. After that, KazMunayGas and the Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR signed an agreement that provides for the transportation of 1.5 million tons of oil per year.

As The Gaze reported earlier, Russia has failed to influence Azerbaijan and is increasingly using hybrid warfare methods against Baku. A confrontation expected to intensify as Baku continues to distance itself from Moscow and move closer to Ankara.