When it comes to oil exports, the Gulf region is often conjured, but there is one important oil-producing country that is often overlooked: Kazakhstan. As the largest oil producer in Central Asia, Kazakhstan's oil and gas resources are mainly concentrated in the western Caspian Sea coast and its nearby Mangeshrak Peninsula and Tengiz region.
The country has had a rich history of oil exploitation since 1717, when the rich oil resources were first discovered on the territory of Kazakhstan.
With the advancement of oil extraction technology in the 20th century, Kazakhstan's oil fields were extensively developed, and by the time of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan's annual oil production had exceeded the 200,000-ton mark.
During World War II, the country's annual oil production reached a staggering 1 million tons. Today, the annual production of oil in Kazakhstan has stabilized at almost 60 million tons per year.
Surprisingly, most of Kazakhstan's oil exports go to Europe. Why, then, did Kazakhstan make such a decision? There are two main reasons: first, the limitation of objective factors.
Kazakhstan's oil fields are mainly concentrated near the Caspian Sea at the junction of the Eurasian continent, and there are European countries such as Turkey and Azerbaijan on the Caspian Sea. Thus, from a relative spatial point of view, the main oil-producing regions of Kazakhstan are closer to Europe and have lower transportation costs.
Due to the high cost of transportation and the complex terrain, Kazakhstan faces difficulties in exporting oil to places such as Xinjiang, China. In addition, as a landlocked country, Kazakhstan's oil industry cannot be compared with the oil industry in the Persian Gulf region due to its lack of access to the sea.
Although pipeline transportation is less affected by external factors, the problems of its small volume and low efficiency also exist obviously. According to statistics, in 2022, Kazakhstan produced 58.76 million tons**, of which 46 million tons were exported, mainly to European countries such as the Netherlands, France, and Italy.
Although Kazakhstan is not entirely dependent on the export of oil resources to China, there is a pipeline of more than 2,800 kilometers between the two countries, capable of transporting 15 million tons of oil per year, which enters China through Alashankou.
In addition to the geographical factor, international political factors are also factors that cannot be ignored, and the direction of Kazakhstan's oil exports also reflects its comprehensive consideration of the international situation.
Kazakhstan's diplomatic strategy is focused on maximizing its own interests, often seeking a balance between the great powers. This diplomatic strategy is similar to that of India, which has a slight edge in geopolitical influence thanks to its large population and relatively strong military.
However, as a landlocked country, Kazakhstan has relatively little value to large countries, so exporting resources is an effective means that can be used as a bargaining chip for communication and negotiations with large countries.
Although Kazakhstan does not export much oil to China, China imports a lot of natural gas from Kazakhstan. Therefore, in general, Kazakhstan does not intend to reduce exports of resources to China.
In addition, most of the oil used by China in recent years has come from the Gulf region.
The oil in the Gulf region is attracting attention for its high-quality light oil properties, but although Kazakhstan has three large refineries built during the Soviet era (Zimkent, Pavlodar, Atyrau) and more than 20 small oil refineries, its oil processing technology and oil quality standards are generally low, resulting in a lack of competitiveness in the international market.
In contrast, Middle East oil is more popular in the Chinese market due to its superior quality.
Kazakhstan attaches great importance to the support of Western Europe in international affairs, therefore, in order to gain more voice in the international arena, Kazakhstan has adopted a diversified oil export strategy.
By exporting large quantities of oil to Western Europe, Kazakhstan will not only balance the forces, but also strengthen its position and influence in international affairs. Therefore, Kazakhstan's top decision-makers decided to adopt such a strategy to achieve their goals.
In November last year, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, expressed the EU's support for Kazakhstan's large-scale economic construction during his visit to Kazakhstan.
According to the data, in 2022, the total amount of Kazakhstan and the European Union reached 40 billion US dollars, an increase of 54%。This is further evidence that Kazakhstan's economic dependence on the EU is deepening.
Kazakhstan is rich in oil resources, and if it depends on one country for exports for a long time, it may pose a threat to its economic security. As a result, Kazakhstan** is taking steps to reduce its dependence on the Chinese market by diversifying its oil exports.
Although Kazakhstan and China are friendly neighbors, there are still potential geopolitical risks that need to be taken seriously.
It is worth noting that 80 of the oil exported by Kazakhstan is not sold only to a single country, but is scattered across several markets. Therefore, in making this decision, Kazakhstan fully took into account various factors to ensure the maximization of national interests.
In addition, as a sovereign state, Kazakhstan** has the right to determine the volume of resources exported and the amount allocated to individual resource-importing countries. Therefore, we cannot use oil resources alone as the only criterion for measuring China's relations with Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan is one of the founding members of the SCO and an important country along the Belt and Road, and its relations with China are not uneventful, but very close in terms of economic and cultural exchanges.
At the China (Shaanxi)-Kazakhstan Economic and Trade Cooperation Matchmaking Fair on September 7, Ainul Baspakova, General Manager of the Kazakhstan Atameken National Entrepreneurs Association, said that the "Belt and Road" is a popular international multilateral cooperation platform, and Kazakhstan is an important partner of China in building the "Belt and Road".