KAZAKHSTAN
Background
Kazakhstan has the second largest oil reserves as well as the second largest oil production among the former Soviet republics after Russia . The country also has large reserves of natural gas and production of both oil and gas is steadily increasing.
Full development of its major oilfields could make Kazakhstan one of the world's top 5 oil producers within the next decade. With production of 1.54 million barrels per day (bbl/d) in 2009, Kazakhstan is already a major producer, and continued development of its giant Tengiz, Karachaganak, and Kashagan fields is expected to at least double its current production by 2019. Kazakhstan's sector of the Caspian Sea is believed to hold several other major oil and natural gas deposits as yet unexploited.
