Kazakhstan hopes to get $150bn in investments

Kazakhstani state authorities hope to attract at least $150bn in investments due to the program on exploring the Caspian Sea shelf. Kazakhstani Foreign Minister Kasymzhomart Tokayev made this statement during a visit of a Kazakhstani state delegation to Canada, the press service of the Kazakhstani Foreign Ministry reported. The program, which is to be presented by Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev in Calgary, Canada, envisages the conduct of international tenders and the creation of joint ventures. According to the minister, Kazakhstan needs foreign investments to explore the shelf with billions of barrels of reserves, as some experts believe. Tokayev mentioned that by 2015 Kazakhstan is planning to increase its oil production to 150m tons per year.

The minister noted that foreign companies that would create joint ventures with Kazakhstani enterprises would not need to participate in tenders. "We prefer the creation of joint ventures with large foreign companies", Tokayev said.

Currently several large international oil companies are working in Kazakhstan, including Royal Dutch/Shell, ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco and BP.