Kazakhstan's ability to diversify its seaborne crude oil export routes away from Russian territory is critical to the country's economy, the developer of an alternative port told CNBC. Once complete, the port could provide an alternative to Kazakhstan's main seaborne crude oil export route, which currently transports volumes across Russian territory via the 1,511-kilometer (939-mile) Caspian Pipeline Corporation's pipeline, for later shipment from the CPC terminal near Russian port Novorossiysk. Exports from the CPC terminal were intermittently disrupted in 2022, with Russia citing technical and regulatory issues. "Approximately 95% of oil is going through Russian territory, and we have seen some disturbance last year, and actually … it's quite a threat to the Kazakhstan economy, because we are depending on the oil revenues," Marabayev told CNBC on Wednesday. ExxonMobil's after-tax earnings linked to its Kazakh interests were roughly $2.5 billion in 2022.

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