Expertise
How Foreign Investments Are Transforming Kazakhstan❜s Economy and Everyday Life
#1 (151), February 2025 special issue
Foreign investments are pivotal in the country's economic development, particularly in strategically significant sectors such as oil and gas. Kazakhstan, possessing some of the world’s largest oil and gas reserves, actively attracts international capital to develop its natural resources. In addition to offering immense growth potential for the national economy, these investments directly impact the lives of ordinary Kazakhstani citizens.
Gas Market Outlook in Central Asia and Europe
#5 (149), November 2024
We are all witnessing a paradox in the global economy: On one hand, due to climate change, we urgently need to abandon fossil fuels. On the other hand, as a result of the war in Ukraine, we are more dependent on fossil fuels than ever. Let’s begin with the so-called climate crisis, which has been ongoing for years and decades. The world must either prevent it or learn to cope with the growing global warming, which, according to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, will exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels within the next decade.
Faces of Kazakhstan❜s GR
#2 (146), April 2024 special issue
Today, we introduce you to GR experts in the Republic of Kazakhstan’s oil, gas, and energy companies. They serve as a unique communication bridge between the companies, the government, and the public. Aizhan Khamitova, the head of the GR HUB expert community, which unites professionals in the field of interaction with state authorities and other key stakeholders of companies, asked GR specialists to talk about their work. The questions were all the same, making the answers all the more interesting to read.
Kazakhstan❜s Gas Sector: A New Vision
#1 (145), February 2024 special issue
Petroleum continues its review of the National Energy Report 2023, prepared by the team at S&P Global and presented in October 2023 during Kazakhstan Energy Week-2023 / XV Eurasian KAZENERGY Forum. In issue No.6 of our journal last year, we discussed the current state of the country's oil industry. What is the situation with gas?
The National Energy Report Presents a Vision for the Industry’s Prospects
#6 (144), December 2023
At the Kazakhstan Energy Week-2023 / XV Eurasian KAZENERGY Forum, held in Astana in early October, the annual National Energy Report (NER) was unveiled. Energy continues to be a significant component of Kazakhstan's economy: the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 resulted in the most serious economic downturn (a GDP decline of 2.6%) since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. However, active economic recovery afterward has been mainly due to the energy sector.
From Oil Export to Capital Export. Why Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan Invest Petrodollars in Overseas Projects
#6 (144), December 2023
Baku and Astana continue to allocate financial resources, derived from the sale of raw materials abroad, into industry-relevant assets overseas, including refineries, petrochemical plants, and gas stations. The objectives of such activities are to integrate into the global fuel market, increase the profits of core state-owned companies, and create profitable assets abroad that can generate revenue for the state treasury even after the hydrocarbon resources of the mentioned countries are depleted.
Development Potential of Petrochemistry in Kazakhstan
#5 (143), November 2023
Currently, Kazakhstan's oil and gas chemistry is in its formative stages. The republic has already established and operates a number of manufacturing facilities, including plants producing polypropylene, lubricants, gasoline additives, among others. On November 8, 2022, the head of state inaugurated one of the largest factories of its kind in the CIS countries – a polypropylene production plant located in the Atyrau region with an annual capacity of 500,000 tons. This state-of-the-art facility currently has the capability to produce up to 65 grades of polypropylene.
Refining: Expectations vs. Reality
#5 (143), November 2023
In Russia, it's often said that the two main challenges are fools and roads. In Kazakhstan's oil industry, however, the two most debated topics are oil refining and petrochemicals. Fuel shortages have now become a pressing concern, and the petrochemical industry has been in development since as far back as 2005.
Why it is Problematic for Investors to Take the Long View
#4 (142), September 2023
Modern Kazakhstan is not merely a country abundant with natural resources and having the fastest growing economy. It is also the country where importance is being increasingly attached to investment climate. Amid global competition for capital, we see that Kazakhstan is striving to create a favourable environment for investors, whether they are multinationals or local businesses. The government investment policy pays off - we have witnessed a record flow of international direct investments to Kazakhstan, totalled US$ 28 billion in 2022, according to the RK Ministry of Economy.
Across the Caspian Sea. Can Kazakhstan Diversify its Export Flows?
#4 (142), September 2023
In late March 2023, a tanker named Akademik Khoshbakht Yusifzade, belonging to the Azerbaijan Caspian Sea Shipping Company, docked in Baku from Aktau. It carried 6.9 thous. tons of oil from the Kashagan field. The shipper was one of the shareholders of the North Caspian Consortium – the Japanese company INPEX North Caspian Sea.
KazMunayGas IPO: is it (Already) Not the Time?
#5 (137), November 2022
By December 10, the National Welfare Fund Samruk-Kazyna intends to hold an IPO of the national company KazMunayGas. The order book will open in early November, which is when the price of the stock will be known. To date, the book value is 14,325 tenge, but the organizers promise a discount. It will not be people's IPO, as it happened, for example, with KazTransOil ten years ago, but the shares will primarily be sold to citizens of Kazakhstan and institutional investors, and what will remain for foreign investors.
Gasoline rivers do not flow abroad
#3 (129), June 2021Digital Oil
#3 (129), June 2021
The first online auction to grant the right to explore and produce hydrocarbons was held on December 23, 2020.