Russia's Black Sea Novorossiysk port resumes oil loadings after drone attack, sources say

• A Suezmax-class tanker loaded Kazakh KEBCO crude starting Sunday with departure scheduled Monday, while another tanker is expected to load 80,000 tons of KEBCO crude on Tuesday
• The port suspended loadings after the drone attack caused storage tanks to reach capacity when oil deliveries continued but export operations stopped
• The incident highlights the growing vulnerability of Russian energy infrastructure to repeated Ukrainian drone attacks in recent months, affecting both Russian and Kazakh oil exports

Summary: Russia's Novorossiysk Port Resumes Oil Operations After Drone Attack

Russia's primary Black Sea oil terminal at Novorossiysk resumed crude oil loadings on Sunday following a brief suspension caused by a Ukrainian drone attack on Friday. According to trading sources, operations have normalized with tankers loading Kazakh KEBCO crude.

Key Operational Details

A Suezmax-class tanker began loading KEBCO crude on Sunday and was scheduled to depart Monday. An additional tanker is expected to commence loading 80,000 tons of KEBCO crude on Tuesday. The port handles approximately 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil, including Russian Urals and Siberian Light grades, as well as Kazakh KEBCO.

Attack Impact

Following the drone attack, one scheduled tanker departed for open sea early Friday. The port temporarily halted crude loadings and stopped accepting oil into the terminal as storage tanks reached capacity during the suspension. Loadings occur primarily at the Sheskharis terminal, the port's main oil export facility.

Market Implications

The incident highlights the growing vulnerability of Russian energy infrastructure, which has faced repeated Ukrainian drone attacks in recent months. This poses ongoing operational risks to Russian and Kazakh oil exports.

The Novorossiysk port, including both Sheskharis and Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminals, serves as a critical transit route for landlocked Kazakhstan, which depends on Russian infrastructure to export its KEBCO and CPC Blend crude to global markets. Any extended disruption could impact regional oil supply chains and Kazakhstan's export capabilities.

The quick resumption of operations suggests limited structural damage, though the vulnerability of this key export hub remains a concern for energy markets.