- Статьи
- Economy
- Scope and influence: Russia and Kazakhstan plan to increase cooperation in the energy sector
Scope and influence: Russia and Kazakhstan plan to increase cooperation in the energy sector
Russia and Kazakhstan have plans to increase cooperation in the extraction, processing and transportation of hydrocarbons, the Russian Embassy in Astana told Izvestia. It is noteworthy that this is happening against the background of pressure from Western countries and the risks of secondary sanctions. This, in particular, is due to the lack of public specifics on the projects, experts noted. At the same time, according to them, cooperation between Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation is mutually beneficial and has the character of pragmatic interdependence. Moscow and Astana have many joint projects, such as oil and gas production on the Caspian Sea shelf. There is serious potential in the development of the so-called gas union of Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
How the United States is trying to slow down cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan
Despite the difficult geopolitical situation, the prospects for the development of Russian-Kazakh cooperation in the oil industry look very promising, the Russian Embassy in Astana noted.
— A number of joint projects are being implemented. There are plans to increase further cooperation between our countries in the production, processing and transportation of hydrocarbons," the diplomats stressed. — Illegal American and European sanctions against the Russian oil industry could not but have a negative impact on it. However, these restrictions are not able to seriously slow down Russian-Kazakh cooperation in this area.
The diplomatic mission noted that there are trusting cooperative relations between Russia and Kazakhstan, within which the risks associated with sanctions pressure from the West are discussed.
"The parties, in the spirit of comprehensive strategic partnership and alliance, invariably find mutually beneficial solutions to all issues arising in this regard," the embassy added.
It should be recalled that during the Joe Biden administration, the United States warned Kazakhstan about the risks of secondary sanctions due to cooperation with Moscow. After the arrival of Donald Trump, the foreign policy of the United States changed, but Washington retained the practice of economic restrictions as a lever to exert pressure on the Russian Federation and its partners. The White House has repeatedly warned a number of countries this year about the possibility of imposing additional tariffs due to cooperation with Russia in the energy sector. So far, all these threats have not had the desired effect in any case.
At the same time, Astana received no specific appeals, but local media drew attention to the risks associated with the development of a draft law that provides for the imposition of duties of up to 500% on imports from countries that purchase Russian oil, gas and uranium. And while oil mainly transits through the territory of Kazakhstan to other countries, the republic buys gas from the Russian Federation to cover its own needs.
Kazakhstani enterprises have already been hit by the West. Earlier it was reported that restrictions were imposed on two dozen companies by the European Union and the United States due to ties with the Russian Federation. The risks of secondary sanctions also remain, Alibek Tazhibaev, director of the Eurasian Monitoring Analytical Research Center, said in a conversation with Izvestia. At the same time, in his opinion, Kazakhstan acts as an important element of energy security for the United States and the EU on the issue of oil, especially against the background of Europe's refusal from Russian supplies. Sanctions pressure on Astana in such conditions would be politically and economically unprofitable for Western countries.
The Architecture of Energy Security in Eurasia
Russia is trying to form a unified and indivisible security architecture in Eurasia with a focus on post-Soviet countries, Daria Saprynskaya, a researcher at the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences and an expert at Valdai, told Izvestia.
— Kazakhstan is considered a key element of the energy architecture and an important member of OPEC+, whose policy affects the balance of the global market. The Russian Federation is also an important player. Therefore, everything is interconnected here," the expert noted.
Moscow is an important trading partner for Astana: by the end of 2024, the trade turnover between the countries amounted to about $28 billion, and in eight months of this year exceeded $17 billion. For Kazakhstan, Russia acts as both an infrastructural and technological partner.
In the oil sector, cooperation between the two countries is based on pragmatic interdependence, Tazhibayev noted. For Kazakhstan, partnership with Russia in the oil sector is strategically important primarily because of the infrastructure - the bulk of Kazakhstan's oil exports pass through the territory of the Russian Federation, and without access to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) and other routes, the country's budget would lose a significant portion of foreign exchange earnings.
Kazakhstan exports the lion's share of its oil through the Russian CPC and the Atyrau–Samara pipeline, and the oil refinery in Pavlodar, Kazakhstan, is steadily working with raw materials from the Russian Federation. In 2023, Almasadam Satkaliyev, Minister of Energy and now Chairman of the Atomic Energy Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan, stated that Russia supplies about 4.7 million tons of oil to this plant.
Oil storage facility of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium
The two countries' cooperation is based on joint projects on the Caspian shelf, where the parties are key shareholders. A significant part of Kazakhstan's oil is exported through Russian territory and ports. It is processed at the Orenburg Gas Processing Plant (GPZ). In addition, Russian companies provide access to equipment and investments for complex projects on the Caspian shelf, which are more difficult and longer for Kazakhstan to implement alone.
"The development project of the Kalamkas—More, Khazar, and Auezov fields, where KazMunayGas and Lukoil with equal shares act as partners, can be called a key example of such integration," Tazhibayev emphasized. — The design stage is currently underway with the expectation of starting construction work in the middle of this decade and entering production at the end of the decade, which makes the project one of the main future sources of production growth in Kazakhstan.
Ukraine's provocations against the oil infrastructure
The issue of cooperation in the oil and gas sector has become one of the important topics on the agenda of the meeting of the leaders of the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan on November 11-12. At that time, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev paid a state visit to Moscow at the invitation of Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Energy cooperation between the two countries was discussed in detail during the talks, including against the background of US sanctions against Lukoil and Rosneft.
Vladimir Putin and Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
The lack of public statements on specific measures in this matter is due to sanctions sensitivity, Daria Saprynskaya believes. At the same time, Kazakhstan has a clear request to improve infrastructure and security measures, she noted.
— Another area of cooperation is the gasification of Kazakhstan and gas cooperation. An important task here is to strengthen the Russia–Kazakhstan–Uzbekistan trilateral format, the so—called "gas union," the expert said.
Within the framework of this trilateral format, Moscow is ready to assume the role of the main supplier and operator of infrastructure, while Astana and Tashkent are transit countries and consumers of Russian gas. The Russian Federation offers long-term gas supplies to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan with possible expansion of routes to Central Asia, and it is also planned to coordinate price and export policies.
At the same time, in the case of Lukoil, the sanctions initially did not directly affect Kazakhstani projects. This created uncertainty for foreign partners and raised the question of the possible risks of the contracts in which the company participates, the expert added.
On November 15, Washington issued general license No. 124B, which effectively removed operations related to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), the Tengizchevroil project and the Karachaganak project from key sanctions. The Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan held consultations with the United States and confirmed on November 17 that Kazakhstan's Lukoil projects are not subject to secondary sanctions.
The importance of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium cannot be overestimated today. It acts as the main export route for Kazakh oil through Russia to the port of Novorossiysk and a major Russian-Kazakh infrastructure asset. Moscow owns more than 40% of the project, Kazakhstan accounts for about 20%. Interestingly, the United States is also present in the consortium, through Chevron Caspian Pipeline Consortium Company (15%) and Mobil Caspian Pipeline Company (7.5%).
Ukraine has repeatedly tried to strike at the infrastructure of this project. On November 29, a naval drone of the Armed Forces of Ukraine damaged one of the remote single-point berths (SPM) at the CPC marine terminal, after which oil shipments were stopped. On December 4, the terminal was restored. For understanding, more than 80% of Kazakhstan's oil and over 1% of the global supply of black gold pass through the consortium.
— The CTC has already been attacked by the Kiev regime, which is supplied, directed and financed by NATO-EU sponsors. It is worth recalling that these aggressive attacks were strongly condemned by Moscow and Astana, the Russian Embassy told Izvestia.
The Kazakh Foreign Ministry issued an official protest after the incident, calling the state of emergency at the marine terminal a targeted attack on the critical infrastructure of the international CPC.
Anyway, despite the attacks and sanctions, Daria Saprynskaya concluded, cooperation between Moscow and Astana is developing. The sanctions background has created additional legal risks, but the work of Russian companies in Kazakhstan continues, albeit under conditions of more careful risk management by all partners.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
