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Kazakhstan
After Kazakhstan declared independence from the Soviet Union, Nursultan
Nazarbayev has lead efforts to use the country’s oil wealth as means of supplying a
balance of Western and Asian countries, as well as the Russian Federation. There is
huge competition in transferring these resources to Western markets. Moscow is one
step ahead of this curve due to the natural advantages provided by the transportation
system inherited from the Soviet era. The Kremlin, for its part, has been far more
enthusiastic in attempting to regain the influence lost after the region’s disintegration since the start of the Putin era and pursues a consistent policy aimed at obtaining the energy resources of Central Asian countries—of which Kazakhstan is the
largest and closest (www.politikaakademisi.org 2017).
Just before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, there was serious uncertainty as to how to regulate relations between Moscow and Central Asia. This uncertainty reflected the uncertainty of the Kremlin, the elites and leadership of the
Central Asian republics themselves, and the populations of these countries as to
how, indeed, they ought to regard one another. Liberal elites, who thought that
Moscow would have a prominent position in the new European era, in particular,
were keen to establish a close relationship with the Kremlin’s republics in Central
Asia. Russian nationalists, who did not adopt a positive approach toward Central
Asia, wanted ethnic Russians in Central Asia to support Moscow and to consolidate
their advantageous cultural and political positions in these republics. Communist
groups, meanwhile, wanted to rebuild the Soviet Union with communists in other
republics in Central Asia, thinking that the disintegration of the Soviet Union would
prove a temporary setback in the big scheme of things (www.politikaakademisi.
org 2017).
In energy geopolitics however the real estate dictum of “location, location, location” best sums up the elements which govern the success or failure of political
ambition. Kazakhstan is the world’s largest landlocked country—and what is more,
is locked between the even larger and vying powers of China and Russia. With huge
stocks of oil, gas, and mineral resources, and as a potential gateway to the Caspian
Sea and Europe, Kazakhstan’s position is both unique and also significant to a number of actors, yet economic growth in the country mainly depends on transport infrastructure and regional trade (www.forbes.com 2017a, b).
Kazakhstan has been an oil-producing region since 1911, and during the Soviet
era was the largest producer of all Soviet Republics after Russia. According to the
Energy Information Administration (EIA), by 2016, Kazakhstan has to produce
1.698 million bpd at its largest fields in Kashagan, Tengiz, and Karachaganak;
exporting around1 300,000 bpd. By January 2017, Kazakhstan’s natural gas reserves
85 trillion cubic feet with the country producing 1.5 trillion cubic feet daily (www.
eia.gov 2017a, b, c, d). According to Robert Ebel and Rajan Menon, Kazakhstan’s
expected revenue from oil imports will never meet the Kazakhstan government’s
expectations due to a number of factors. Firstly, Kazakhstan is landlocked, and thus
the cost of transporting oil will be high due to the country’s geographical position.
3 International Context of the New Era and the Caspian Sea Region
Kazakhstan
After Kazakhstan declared independence from the Soviet Union, Nursultan
Nazarbayev has lead efforts to use the country’s oil wealth as means of supplying a
balance of Western and Asian countries, as well as the Russian Federation. There is
huge competition in transferring these resources to Western markets. Moscow is one
step ahead of this curve due to the natural advantages provided by the transportation
system inherited from the Soviet era. The Kremlin, for its part, has been far more
enthusiastic in attempting to regain the influence lost after the region’s disintegration since the start of the Putin era and pursues a consistent policy aimed at obtaining the energy resources of Central Asian countries—of which Kazakhstan is the
largest and closest (www.politikaakademisi.org 2017).
Just before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, there was serious uncertainty as to how to regulate relations between Moscow and Central Asia. This uncertainty reflected the uncertainty of the Kremlin, the elites and leadership of the
Central Asian republics themselves, and the populations of these countries as to
how, indeed, they ought to regard one another. Liberal elites, who thought that
Moscow would have a prominent position in the new European era, in particular,
were keen to establish a close relationship with the Kremlin’s republics in Central
Asia. Russian nationalists, who did not adopt a positive approach toward Central
Asia, wanted ethnic Russians in Central Asia to support Moscow and to consolidate
their advantageous cultural and political positions in these republics. Communist
groups, meanwhile, wanted to rebuild the Soviet Union with communists in other
republics in Central Asia, thinking that the disintegration of the Soviet Union would
prove a temporary setback in the big scheme of things (www.politikaakademisi.
org 2017).
In energy geopolitics however the real estate dictum of “location, location, location” best sums up the elements which govern the success or failure of political
ambition. Kazakhstan is the world’s largest landlocked country—and what is more,
is locked between the even larger and vying powers of China and Russia. With huge
stocks of oil, gas, and mineral resources, and as a potential gateway to the Caspian
Sea and Europe, Kazakhstan’s position is both unique and also significant to a number of actors, yet economic growth in the country mainly depends on transport infrastructure and regional trade (www.forbes.com 2017a, b).
Kazakhstan has been an oil-producing region since 1911, and during the Soviet
era was the largest producer of all Soviet Republics after Russia. According to the
Energy Information Administration (EIA), by 2016, Kazakhstan has to produce
1.698 million bpd at its largest fields in Kashagan, Tengiz, and Karachaganak;
exporting around1 300,000 bpd. By January 2017, Kazakhstan’s natural gas reserves
85 trillion cubic feet with the country producing 1.5 trillion cubic feet daily (www.
eia.gov 2017a, b, c, d). According to Robert Ebel and Rajan Menon, Kazakhstan’s
expected revenue from oil imports will never meet the Kazakhstan government’s
expectations due to a number of factors. Firstly, Kazakhstan is landlocked, and thus
the cost of transporting oil will be high due to the country’s geographical position.
3 International Context of the New Era and the Caspian Sea Region