Kazakhstan is in talks with Azerbaijan to revive the idle Baku-Supsa oil pipeline as the Central Asian nation explores alternative routes to boost crude exports to the West, Energy Minister Yerlan Akkhenzhenov told Azerbaijani media.
The Baku-Supsa pipeline, inactive since March 2022, is being considered as a dedicated corridor for Kazakhstan’s heavier, high-sulfur crude—distinct from Azerbaijan’s light, high-quality Azeri Light oil. Currently, most Kazakh crude is shipped westward via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) through the Russian port of Novorossiysk. The revival of Baku-Supsa would provide a critical diversification route.
“The existing pipeline [Baku-Supsa] has a throughput capacity of over 7 million tonnes annually. For the project to be economically viable for both sides, it requires large shipment volumes,” Akkhenzhenov explained. “That means Kazakhstan must secure larger contracts with European buyers.”
He noted that technical challenges tied to blending Kazakhstan’s heavier oil with Azeri Light in the main Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline make a separate route through Supsa attractive, both operationally and commercially.
In the first half of 2025, approximately 750,000 tonnes of Kazakh crude flowed through existing routes via Azerbaijan, compared to 1.5 million tonnes for all of 2024. That volume could significantly increase if Western demand rises.
“The outlook for growing demand from Europe makes the reopening of Baku-Supsa strategically important,” Akkhenzhenov said, adding that Kazakh and Azerbaijani energy officials remain in close contact to assess feasibility.
While the pipeline’s revival hinges on long-term commercial interest and sustained throughput, the move would mark a notable shift in regional energy logistics—reducing reliance on Russian transit routes and potentially cementing Azerbaijan’s role as a key hub in Central Asia-Europe energy connectivity
