Kazakhstan has significantly increased it's oil output to 75 million tons this year which is about 6.7% more than last year. This was confirmed by Minister of Energy Sauat Mynbayev. This means that Kazakhstan's oil production will reach a bit less than 2% of the entire world's production. With Kazakhstan all set to become one of the biggest producers of oil in future, the president has already instructed government to develop more oil and gas refineries.
Oil is a very important part of Kazakhstan's economy and constitutes significantly to the overall GDP. Kazakhstan is already in talks with Turkey to transport it's oil and gas to Europe (through Turkey). Kazakhstan already has oil pipeline going to China.
Kazakhstan currently has the largest recoverable crude oil reserves in the the Caspian Sea region. In 1998 the State Department estimated the Caspian region has reserves of oil and gas. With oil prices on a constant rise, Kazakhstan's GDP growth has stayed above 9 percent for the last 6 years. Almost all the oil is located in huge deposits, such as the Tengiz oil field, which lie in and near the Caspian Sea. The Tengiz field has 6 to 9 billion barrels of estimated reserves. There are more than 200 oil and gas fields in the country.
Last year Kazakhstan’s Parliament passed a law allowing the government to abrogate oil contracts, unnerving the companies. Existing production from this field is expected to double in the next decade. The Kashagan field, the largest oil field outside the Middle East and the fifth largest in the world (in terms of reserves), is located off the northern shore of the Caspian Sea, near the city of Atyrau.
The country had 2007 natural gas production of 27.25 billion cubic metres and consumption of 19.77 billion cubic metres, making it a net gas exporter. In January 2001, the President of Kazakhstan set up a National Fund to try to level off the effect of fluctuations of oil revenue on the economy. Kazakhstan has three major oil refineries, with a combined refining capacity of 427,000 b/d.
Prepared by Anita Bhel
Independent Reporter
In collaboration with Saching
(http://www.saching.com, http://www.writearticles.org)
