KAZAKHSTAN ENERGY WEEK - 2025
Mangystau Region: Facts, Key Projects, and Outlook
As of the end of 2024, the Republic of Kazakhstan consisted of 17 regions and three cities of republican significance. One of the key regions for the country’s economy is the Mangystau Region, which possesses substantial hydrocarbon resources. Over the past five years, the region’s share of gross regional product (GRP) in Kazakhstan's gross domestic product (GDP) structure has averaged approximately 4.3 percent in value terms.
Oil and Gas Base
Mangystau Region accounts for nearly one-fifth of Kazakhstan’s total oil production. As of 2024 year-end, more than 17.1 mln tons of oil were produced in the region, which is 3.1% higher than the previous year’s level. As of early 2025, 340 legal entities were registered in the region, with oil and associated gas production as their primary activity. This includes seven large hydrocarbon production companies, employing more than 1,000 workers, primarily Ozenmunaigas, Mangistaumunaigas, Karazhanbasmunai, and others (see Table 1).
Table 1. Major Oil Production Enterprises in 2024
Oil production represents 93% of the region’s entire extractive industry and defines its macroeconomic profile: more than 43% of the gross regional product (GRP) comes from this sector (about 1.5 trln tenge in value terms).
According to the report by the analytical company BCC Invest, the following industries hold the following positions in the economic structure of the region with a significant gap:
Real estate operations – 282.0 bln tenge, or 7.7% of GRP. The annual increase amounted to 4.7 bln tenge, or 1.7%. This may be due to high business activity in the region, which creates demand for commercial and residential real estate. Oil and gas sector companies rent office spaces and storage bases, and their employees generate consistent demand for housing.
Transport and warehousing – 271.3 bln tenge, or 7.4% of GRP. The annual decline amounted to -18.0 bln tenge, or -6.2%. This result may be due to a decrease in railway freight volumes. Freight turnover for 2024 reached 14.6 bln tkm, which is 1.9 bln tkm, or 11.7%, less than in 2023.
Wholesale and retail trade – 208.6 bln tenge, or 5.7% of GRP. The annual increase amounted to 30.7 bln tenge, or 17.2%. This growth is primarily attributed to an 11.4% increase in retail trade. Most of the growth was recorded in the cities of Aktau (+13.1%) and Zhanaozen (+14.3%), which may indicate an increasing urbanization of the region.
Construction – 188.5 bln tenge, or 5.2% of GRP. According to 2024 statistics, the volume of completed work exceeded the 2023 level by 11.6%. The main growth was due to construction and installation works (+94.4%) and capital repairs (+185.3%).
Manufacturing industry – 134.0 bln tenge, or 3.7% of GRP. The annual increase amounted to 18.5 bln tenge, or 16.0%. The sector’s growth was mainly driven by increased output in the metallurgical industry (+18.7%) and in the chemical products sector (+158.7%).
What is happening today at the largest oil-producing enterprises of the sector?
Mangistaumunaigas JSC
As of January 1, 2021, the initial recoverable oil reserves across the 15 fields developed by the company amounted to 374.3 mln tons, with remaining reserves at 107.7 mln tons. The principal industrially significant fields, Kalamkas and Zhetybay, account for nearly 90% of the remaining reserves.
In total, the joint-stock company develops 15 fields. The key ones are Kalamkas (development began in 1979), Zhetybay, including South and East Zhetybay (discovered in 1961), Asar, Oymasha, Burmasha, Bekturly, North Akkar, Pridorozhnoye, and others.
In 2024, MMG produced approximately 6.17 mln tons of oil, which is around 19,000 tons more than in 2023. In Q1 2025, production reached 1.506 mln tons. Despite most of the fields being mature, the company plans to maintain production at the previous year’s level by drilling new wells, introducing polymer flooding, digitizing processes, and switching wells to electric submersible pumps.
Currently, the Chinese partner of the joint-stock company, CNPC Corporation, and the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan are negotiating an extension of the subsurface use contract for Mangistaumunaigas JSC. The current contract, No. 170, was signed on January 17, 1998, and is set to expire at the end of 2028. In the summer of last year, the Ministry of Energy and CNPC signed a framework agreement confirming their intention to extend the current contract for at least 20 years, provided that the Chinese side commits to implementing one or more investment projects with high economic efficiency, in coordination with the Ministry. These projects are currently under discussion.
Ozenmunaigas JSC
The Uzen field is among the largest, with initial geological reserves amounting to 1.15 bln tons and remaining reserves exceeding 120 mln tons as of mid-2024.
Ozenmunaigas JSC develops two key fields: Uzen and Karazhanbas. In 2024, the company produced 5.098 mln tons of oil (+4.5% compared to 2023) and 612 mln m³ of gas. In 2025, it plans to produce 5.253 mln tons of oil. To secure additional production volumes, the company continues to implement the Uzen and Karazhanbas field rehabilitation project, which includes drilling new wells, adopting modern technologies, extending workover intervals, and upgrading infrastructure and automation systems. Expected production growth under the Uzen-Karazhanbas rehabilitation project is projected to reach up to 5.9 mln tons by 2029.