Image by Ninaras
Although the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan, rich in natural resources, committed as a member of OPEC to production curbs in September of last year, it seems Astana had no intention of actually following through on the promise.
“Speaking on May 30, Energy Minister Kanat Bozumbayev said that its earlier pledge to reduce output by 20,000 barrels per day will be reviewed in September,” reported Oilprice.com. However, the IEA described Kazakhstan cheating on the agreement almost immediately.
“Kazakh crude and condensate production rose by nearly 40 kb/d in February to average 1.718 mb/d, according to the latest official data. The increase stemmed mostly from Kashagan, which produced 170 kb/d last month, only five months after start up,” the International Energy Agency reported in March, wrote Oilprice.com.
Bozumbayev also state that Kashagan and its other huge fields, Tengiz and Karachaganak should be excluded from the agreement. The Energy minister stated he already had approval from other OPEC members to move forward with that stipulation.
“I told my colleagues [at the OPEC summit in Vienna], and that is mainly the energy ministers of Saudi Arabia and Russia, that in September our oil production will increase because we have Kashagan. So we are changing our production schedule. That is, we agreed that when Kashagan grows, we will amend our obligations, and they agreed to that. They eased our conditions,” he told Astana TV station.
The investment in the two oil fields has just now, after ten years, started to pay off so Kazakhstan sees it natural that these fields will increase production.
