Russian and Kazakh oil exports via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) fell in January due to maintenance work and bad weather on the Black Sea, but CPC shareholder Transneft said volumes would rise in the months ahead.
The pipeline group shipped an average of 741,864 barrels per day in the first month of the year, down 6.8 percent from the same month a year ago, CPC said on its website.
"There was a climactic factor. Adverse weather conditions on the Black Sea and Turkish straights led to fewer tanker loadings," Mikhail Barkov, Transneft (TRNF_p.RTS) vice president, told Reuters, adding that volumes were also affected by pipeline maintenance.
"The repairs are, for the most part, finished, and we expect volumes to recover from this month forward," he said.
In 2010 the group shipped 273 million barrels and in February 2011 the consortium is expected to export 728,000 bpd.
