Kazakhstan: Continuing to transfer Russian oil to China, the U.S. has approved.

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【Text / Observer Network Yuan Jiaqing】

According to Bloomberg on April 1, the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan stated that the U.S. government will allow the country to continue transporting Russian crude oil to China via pipelines, with the relevant license extended until March next year.

On Wednesday local time, the ministry’s spokesperson Esaily Sezhekbayeva confirmed via email that, after consultations with the U.S. Treasury Department, the exemption license has been extended until March 19, 2027. Previously, reports indicated that after the Trump administration eased sanctions on Russian oil, the exemption license issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury was valid until April of this year.

U.S. media pointed out that this license will allow Kazakhstan to continue transporting thousands of barrels of Russian crude oil to the world’s largest energy consumer, China. Without an extension of the license, amid ongoing drone attacks on oil export terminals along the Baltic coast, Russia would need to find alternative transportation routes for the oil it has agreed to supply to China.

Under an agreement with Russia, Kazakhstan transports 10 million tons of crude oil to China annually, roughly 200k barrels per day. Moscow and Astana are discussing increasing the annual transit volume to 12.5 million tons.

Currently, the Middle East conflict is disrupting the global oil market, with the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz causing energy shortages, forcing many Asian buyers to seek alternative supplies at high prices.

On March 31 local time, AFP cited a warning from oil tanker tracking company Kpler, stating that the ongoing Iran conflict and resulting energy supply disruptions could cause the most severe impact on Asia, with major economies already experiencing supply gaps.

“We believe that, at present, Asia will be the most affected region,” said Jean Maynier, President of Kpler, in an interview at their Singapore office. “Asia’s domestic energy reserves are insufficient to compensate for the supply gap caused by restricted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.”

The impact of power supply disruptions has already begun to show. Maynier mentioned that the Philippines has declared a state of national energy emergency.

“This is very bad for Asia. If this situation continues, we are not optimistic,” he said. “We hope politicians can come up with solutions quickly.”

Ship tracking data shows that energy-starved Asian countries are taking advantage of U.S. sanctions exemptions to buy Russian oil, filling the energy supply gap caused by the Iran conflict.

According to Bloomberg, the Philippines received ESPO (Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean) crude oil for the first time in nearly six years; other countries like Sri Lanka are also negotiating oil transportation cooperation with Russia.

South Korea’s first batch of Russian naphtha has arrived at Daejeon Port and is currently awaiting unloading. However, South Korea’s YTN TV reported Tuesday, citing officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, that since unloading and payment must be completed before the U.S. exemption expires on April 11, it remains unclear whether South Korean companies can continue importing Russian crude oil and naphtha.

The report mentioned that before the exemption policy was introduced, Asian buyers mainly included Indian refineries and independent Chinese plants. Other potential buyers have been deterred by concerns about being cut out of the U.S. financial system.

Currently, India and China remain the largest importers of Russian oil. This year, Russia’s crude oil share in China’s overall oil import structure has significantly increased. Additionally, RT reported that India purchased about 60 million barrels of Russian oil this month, with transaction prices reportedly trading at a premium of $5 to $15 over Brent crude.

As the conflict persists, Japan and other economies may also consider shifting to imports of Russian energy. Japan has already imported Russian liquefied natural gas and urgently needs crude oil and petrochemical raw materials.

However, RT reported that on Tuesday local time, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko explicitly stated that Russia would not supply oil to countries supporting the oil price cap “provocation,” especially naming Japan.

When asked whether Russia would resume oil procurement cooperation with “unfriendly countries” like Japan, Rudenko firmly declined, saying, “Currently, the energy market is highly volatile, with shortages and rising prices. But the Japanese government is still bound by obligations to implement the price cap on Russian crude, which distorts the supply chain. Russia has repeatedly made clear that it will not supply oil to countries supporting this provocation.”

He further stated that if official procurement requests are received from other countries’ agencies, Russia will consider them cautiously, “including the nature of Russia’s relations with those countries and, of course, our economic interests.”

This article is an exclusive report by Observer Network. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.