New Delhi, Aug. 2 -- ASTANA - Kazakhstan's energy ministry pushed back Saturday against reports of a complete shutdown of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, saying publicly that such a scenario "is not being considered," after the corridor that carries the bulk of the country's crude to global markets suspended operations the day before amid escalating Ukrainian drone strikes on Black Sea energy infrastructure.

The ministry said oil continued to flow from shippers into storage during Friday's suspension, and that the tank farms serving the CPC terminal at Novorossiysk remained operational throughout the halt. The statement was calibrated to address commodity market anxiety, not to set a timeline for resumed loading; officials did not say w...