Kazakhstan uranium export circumvents Russia once again

A batch of natural uranium has been shipped to Romania via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) all the way through Azerbaijan and Georgia, according to Kazatomprom.

«Kazatomprom, the national operator for the import and export of uranium, rare metals and nuclear fuel in Kazakhstan confirms it has successfully shipped natural uranium concentrate to Societatea Natională Nuclearelectrica S.A. (SNN). SNN is a state-owned energy company in Romania that produces nuclear fuel and runs the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant, which accounts for about 20% of the energy generated in the country,» Kazatomptom said in a statement.

In December 2022, Kazakhstan won a bid from SNN and became an official supplier for the company. Since then, Kazatomprom has been exporting natural uranium to its Romanian partner via TITR. Kazakhstan has been actively using this route since 2018 in order to mitigate potential risks for the business, since its main exporting route goes all the way through Russia to the seaport city of Saint Petersburg. However, so far there are no limitations for Kazakhstani uranium exports through Russia, according to Kazatomprom.

On March 17, Alisher Taizhanov, chief commercial officer in Kazatomprom, said that the company is going to increase its exports of uranium to the global market via TITR after it negotiates with Azerbaijan and Georgia beforehand.

«It is more about transit permission than a quota issue. We are negotiating this matter right now. Over the past three years, we significantly increased our export of the material that goes through this country (Azerbaijan),» he said during a press conference.

The company revealed that the current quota for the transportation of uranium through Azerbaijan is 4,000 tons. Given that Kazakhstan wants to expand its uranium export, it’s been negotiating with the Azerbaijani government on this question. In addition, Kazatomprom is considering other options to ramp up its exports, including a route through Chinese territory.