Baktykozha Izmukhambetov

Baktykozha Izmukhambetov is the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources of Kazakhstan.

Petroleum production

In an article published on 5 October 2006 in Kazakhstanskaya Pravda, Minister Izmukhametov said the Government of Kazakhstan plans to increase the petroleum output to 150 million tons by 2015. "The prospects of the growing production of hydrocarbons are laid on the development of the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea." According to ITAR-TASS, forecasts predict "62.4 million tons of oil," a 1.6% increase from 2005, and "27.5 billion cubic meters of gas will be produced in Kazakhstan in 2006."

Izmukhametov said the Nazarbayev administration was pursuing a "multi-vector policy, which gives access to the most attractive outlets and ensures the utmost effective use of the pipeline networks. Considering the planned oil production growth in western Kazakhstan, a gradual enlargement of the Atyrau-Samara oil pipeline throughout capacity to 25 million tons a year is being discussed. Kazakhstan is cooperating with other shareholders of the Caspian pipeline consortium project in order to bring the oil pipeline's throughput capacity to the design level of 67 million tons of oil a year. The republic should get maximum profit from those resources, which it possesses. Using the mineral wealth, we should give a boost to our economy, and not to remain the republic living only on raw materials."

Izmukhametov noted that Kazakhstan could export oil through Iran, saying, "The long-term perspective of Kazakh oil exports doesn't exclude the possibility of realizing the Iranian direction. In particular, preliminary studies on the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran oil pipeline project are being carried out." However, Kazakhstan "also shows interest in the Burgas-Alexandropolis oil pipeline project." He said that if this pipeline became operational then oil from the Caspian Sea and Russia could reach Southeast Asia, India and the United States.