Kazakhstan's national oil company KazMunaiGaz profits up by a third in 2005

Kazakhstan's national oil company KazMunaiGaz said Monday that its profits in 2005 increased by a third.

KazMunaiGaz produced 9.3 million tons (10.2 million short tons, 65 million barrels) of oil last year and earned 640.7 billion tenge, about US$4.7 billion (Ђ3.8 billion), 31.4 percent more than in 2004, the company said in a statement.

KazMunaiGaz produces about 16 percent of the energy-rich ex-Soviet republic's overall oil output. It controls 65 percent of Kazakhstan's oil transport routes and 100 percent of gas transport pipelines, the AP reported.

The Central Asian nation is expected to increase oil production from the current 1.3 million barrels to 3 million barrels a day by 2015, according to the Oil Ministry.