CPC oil halt exposes Romania’s reliance on Kazakh crude and raises fuel supply fears

Romania reviews stocks after CPC disruption

Romania’s government and fuel industry are assessing the country’s inventories after the Caspian Pipeline Consortium system stopped receiving Kazakh crude at its Black Sea terminal. The interruption has removed Romania’s most important external source of oil and intensified concern over refinery supplies, diesel availability and further increases in retail fuel prices.

G4Media reported that representatives of filling-station companies, fuel-market operators and the Energy Ministry were due to meet at 17:00 on Thursday. The discussion, attended by State Secretary Cristian Bușoi and ministry Secretary General Sorin-Dumitru Elisei, was called to examine current conditions and available fuel stocks.

Romania already imports approximately 77% of the crude oil it needs, according to market data cited by Jurnalul. Nearly 63% of those imports come from Kazakhstan, meaning that roughly half of all oil processed by Romanian refineries is of Kazakh origin. The concentration leaves the market highly exposed if the interruption lasts longer than existing commercial and strategic inventories can cover.

A 1,500-kilometre route under pressure

The CPC pipeline runs for approximately 1,500 kilometres from oilfields in western Kazakhstan to the marine terminal at Novorossiysk in Russia. Tankers then carry the crude to international customers. Kazakhstan exports approximately 80% of its oil production through this infrastructure. In 2024, the pipeline transported about 63 million tonnes of crude, including 55 million tonnes originating in Kazakhstan.

Jurnalul, citing information reported by Bloomberg, said the stoppage was not a voluntary policy decision by Kazakhstan. The CPC terminal stopped accepting oil after repeated attacks on tankers in the Black Sea area. Although the export terminal is in Russia, the crude is certified as Kazakh origin and is therefore outside Western sanctions imposed on Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine.

The immediate industrial exposure is concentrated at Romania’s refineries. Petromidia, controlled by Kazakhstan’s national oil company, processes almost exclusively Kazakh crude delivered through the port of Midia. OMV Petrom’s Petrobrazi refinery also uses Kazakh oil, although it supplements these volumes with crude from other sources arriving through Constanța.

Diesel dependence compounds the risk

Diesel is the market’s main vulnerability. Economist Adrian Negrescu told Antena 3 CNN that imports cover 80% of Romania’s diesel consumption. He argued that authorities should first verify inventories and protect domestic availability, including by stopping fuel exports if necessary. He cautioned that reducing taxes would not resolve a physical shortage.

A legislative proposal announced by former energy minister Bogdan Ivan would reduce value-added tax on fuel from 21% to 19%, lower the excise duty on standard diesel and restore a formal market-crisis regime. AUR separately asked parliament to reduce fuel VAT. Meanwhile, Eurostat data cited by G4Media placed Romania third in the European Union for fuel-price growth, with an average increase of 23%.

Alternative crude could potentially be sourced from Azerbaijan, Norway or Libya, Jurnalul reported, but changing suppliers would require additional time and logistics costs. The duration of the CPC stoppage will therefore determine whether the disruption remains an inventory-management problem or develops into a broader supply constraint. Refiners, traders and large diesel users across Romania and southeastern Europe will be watching both the Black Sea route and the government’s decisions on stocks, taxation and fuel exports.