_Economy and Finance

Oil and gas basins of Kazakhstan The oil & gas basins of Kazakhstan can be grouped into four revealed or prospective oil & gas provinces in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Exploration in those provinces in which oil and gas has already been extracted had, by 2010, led to the discovery of more than 200 oil, gas, oil-and-gas and condensate hydrocarbon accumulations. Of these, the Kashagen, the Tengiz and the Karachaganak fields can be considered giants.

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.