MOSCOW, Aug 18 (Reuters) - The Caspian Pipeline

Consortium (CPC) halted operations at one of three mooring

points, SMP-3, on August 15 for maintenance that will take up to

three weeks, it said on Monday.

Loadings have been carried out through SMP-1 and SMP-2, it

added.

CPC usually utilises two mooring points at the Black Sea

terminal while holding one as a back-up.

Three trade sources told Reuters last week that Black Sea

CPC Blend crude oil exports will reach just short of 1.6 million

barrels per day (bpd) in September.

That will mark a drop from 1.66 million bpd scheduled to

load in August.

The CPC pipeline connects Kazakhstan's oilfields with export

markets through the Russian Black Sea port of Yuzhnaya

Ozereyevka near Novorossiisk, handling more than 80% of all the

oil exported from Kazakhstan.