Kazakhstan Opens Criminal Probe Over Calls to Attack CPC Oil Pipeline

The government is moving to deter public rhetoric that could encourage further attacks on infrastructure

Kazakhstan has opened a criminal investigation into public statements that authorities say encouraged attacks on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), the main export route for the country’s crude oil, after months of disruption at the system’s Black Sea terminal turned a foreign security risk into a domestic legal and political issue.

Prosecutor General Berik ASYLOV confirmed the case in a written reply to a parliamentary inquiry on January 6. “On December 17, 2025, the Astana City Police Department launched a pre-trial investigation under Part 1 of Article 174 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan (incitement of social, national, tribal, racial, class, or religious discord) into negative public comments regarding damage to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium,” the Prosecutor General stated.

The authorities have yet to name suspects, publish the posts under review, or announce any arrests. The file remains at the evidence-gathering stage, and prosecutors have left open whether any charges will ultimately be filed under Article 174, or reclassified under other provisions once investigators assess the intent and impact.

The probe follows a request by Mazhilis deputy, Aidos SARYM, who said that some social media commentary crossed from opinion into encouragement of harm to strategic infrastructure, endorsed attacks on the CPC, and urged further strikes on critical sites.

The political sensitivity is rooted in the 1,500-kilometer pipeline’s central role in Kazakhstan’s economy. CPC carries crude from western Kazakhstan to a marine terminal near Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, where the oil is loaded onto tankers for delivery to global markets. The pipeline is owned by a consortium that includes Kazakhstan, Russia, and several international energy companies.

The system dominates Kazakhstan’s oil export economy. More than 80% of the country’s crude oil exports move through the CPC route, which also carries more than 1% of global oil supplies, making it a pressure point for both markets and state revenue when operations are disrupted.

The investigation follows a period of repeated disruption at the Novorossiysk terminal in late 2025, after a naval drone strike damaged one of the offshore loading points used to transfer oil from the pipeline to tankers. The damage forced operators to suspend loadings and move vessels away while inspections and repairs were carried out, sharply reducing export capacity.

The CPC relies on single-point moorings positioned at sea to load crude onto tankers, a critical constraint on the entire system; when one goes offline, capacity drops quickly. The pipeline cannot store large volumes, forcing upstream producers to cut or slow output.

By late December, the impact was visible in Kazakhstan’s production figures. Oil output fell by about 6% during the month after the late November strike constrained exports. Production at the Tengiz oilfield, the country’s largest, dropped by roughly 10%. Exports of CPC Blend crude fell to about 1.08 million barrels per day in December, the lowest level in more than a year, as the terminal operated with only one functioning mooring while others remained offline due to damage and maintenance.

Operational pressures continued as severe weather in the Black Sea forced further suspensions of loadings toward the end of the month, compounding losses from security incidents and repair delays. By late December, exports through the terminal were running well below November averages.

Kazakhstan currently has few alternatives at a comparable scale. Some crude can be diverted through other routes, including links into Russia’s pipeline system or shipments that connect to the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan corridor, but those options are constrained by capacity, logistics, and cost. Even when rerouting is possible, it tends to cover only part of the volume and reduces margins.

The repeated disruptions have renewed attention on the Middle Corridor linking Central Asia to Europe via the Caspian Sea and the South Caucasus, but capacity limits, infrastructure gaps, and higher transport costs mean it remains a long-term diversification option rather than a near-term substitute for CPC volumes.

The legal basis chosen for the investigation, Article 174 of the criminal code, has long been controversial because of its broad construction and its use in speech-related cases. The provision addresses incitement of social, national, or other forms of discord and has been criticized by legal analysts and rights advocates for its scope. There is precedent for using Article 174 to prosecute speech authorities view as a threat to state stability, but it has typically been applied to cases involving political activism, protest-related rhetoric, or ethnic and religious discourse rather than commentary linked to foreign military actions and economic infrastructure.

In the CPC case, the timing suggests the government is moving to deter public rhetoric that could encourage further attacks on infrastructure central to Kazakhstan’s export revenue. The late-2025 disruptions showed how quickly damage to the pipeline system translates into lower output and reduced exports, turning security incidents into measurable economic losses.

The diplomatic backdrop adds another layer of sensitivity. With its adherence to a multi-vector foreign policy, Kazakhstan has sought to preserve working relations with both Moscow and Kyiv since Russia invaded Ukraine, while keeping the country out of the conflict and safeguarding trade. After the Novorossiysk incident, Astana framed the terminal as an international civilian facility with global economic significance, while Kyiv said its actions were directed at Russia’s war capacity, not at Kazakhstan.

How the case unfolds will determine whether it remains a warning or becomes a precedent. Investigators must identify specific statements, confirm authorship, and assess whether posts amounted to direct calls for violence or remained commentary on reported events.

For oil markets and companies operating in Kazakhstan’s upstream sector, the risk remains operational. CPC is still the main export route, and interruptions continue to affect production and shipment forecasts. For domestic politics, the investigation ties enforcement of speech laws to the protection of critical infrastructure at a moment when the economic cost of disruption can be measured in lost barrels and missed export days.

By The: The Times Of Central Asia.

Image: TCA, Aleksandr Potolitsyn.

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