Kazakhstan's oil and condensate production hits record in March, sources say

MOSCOW, April 1 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan's oil and condensate output reached a record high in March, with higher output from the giant Tengiz oilfield and stable exports via the Caspian pipeline, further exceeding OPEC+ production quotas, two industry sources said and Reuters calculations showed on Tuesday.

The country has repeatedly exceeded its OPEC+ quotas in recent months and has promised to reduce output under pressure from OPEC+ leaders Saudi Arabia and Russia.

Oil and gas condensate production in Kazakhstan reached 8.95 million metric tons in March, or 2.17 million barrels per day (bpd), the sources said. That compared with 2.15 million bpd on average in February, according to the state's Energy Ministry.

Kazakhstan's OPEC+ quota does not limit condensate production, but crude oil output is meant to be set at 1.468 million bpd.

Excluding gas condensate, a type of light oil, crude oil production increased last month to 1.88 million bpd from 1.83 million bpd in February, according to the source familiar with the official statistics, and Reuters calculations, which take into account Kazakhstan's tons per barrel ratio of 7.5.

Kazakhstan's March oil exports remained high, with flows via its Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) export route continuing unabated last month, despite expectations after drone attacks on its infrastructure in February and March.

Exports via the CPC pipeline have been initially set at 1.7 million bpd for both March and April.

However the CPC operator, which exports around 1% of global oil supply via the Russian terminal, said late on Monday that the two single mooring points (SPM) were halted following snap inspections by Russia's transport watchdog. That means April CPC Blend oil loadings might decline.