Oil is Kazakhstan's main export
Kazakhstan balks at freezing oil output
, March 10, 2016
Kazakhstan indicated on Thursday it had no plan to freeze oil output, as suggested by a group of major producers, and would instead ramp up production to its original target of 77 million tonnes per year if the oil price stayed above $40 a barrel.
Energy Minister Vladimir Shkolnik also signalled that the biggest ex-Soviet oil producer after Russia had not been invited to take part in a planned meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and non-Opec oil producers to discuss freezing output.
"If we are invited, we will (take part in the meeting)," Shkolnik told reporters. Kazakhstan is not a member of the Opec.
An Iraqi oil official was quoted on Wednesday as saying the world's biggest oil exporters in and outside Opec planned to meet in Moscow on March 20. Russia's energy ministry, however, has since said no date or place had been set yet for such talks.
The Kazakh government in its budget in November had targeted oil output of 77 million tonnes in 2016, assuming an average oil price of $40 a barrel, but it lowered the target to 74 million tonnes last month as Brent crude hovered nearer $30.
"If the average price is about $40, the output will be 77 million tonnes," Shkolnik said.
That would still be lower than production last year of 79.5 million tonnes.
"We have reduced our output a little and hope that if other countries follow our example this will positively affect the global markets," Shkolnik said.
"We are not freezing anything."
Oil is Kazakhstan's main export. The drop in crude prices forced the authorities last August to stop pegging the national tenge currency to the dollar, letting it lose nearly half its value against the greenback within just a few months.
Some Kazakh fields are old and production there stops being feasible at certain price levels.
However, at the end of this year the Central Asian nation hopes to launch commercial output at the giant Kashagan field located off its Caspian coast. --Reuters
