Kazakhstan appears to be taking steps to cut its dependence on Russian oil export infrastructure, French shipbroker BRS Group believes.

The Paris shop said the country has increasingly been exporting crude tanker cargoes across the Caspian Sea.

This is a “hint” that Kazakhstan is shifting from a historical stance that has seen oil shipped from Russian ports in the Black Sea via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal near Novorossiysk, the company added.