• Is the Kazakhstan-China pipeline a good option for Kazakh oil exports?
  • The Kazakhstan-China Pipeline (KCP) was main non-Russian route for Kazakh oil exports in 2022. ¨C KCP remains substantially underutilized, as it tends to yield relatively unattractive netbacks given fixed China border price at discount to an international benchmark and provides access to one market (and buyer).
  • Is Kazakh ready to transition to market-based refined product prices?
  • Kazakh authorities remain officially committed to a gradual transition to market-based refined product prices, in keeping with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) goal of launching a common market in oil and refined products in 2025 (e.g. raising the ceiling on gasoline and diesel prices).
  • Are Kazakhstan’s crude oil barrels the most expensive in the world?
  • 2023 S&P Global. Kazakhstan¡¯s barrels are not the most expensive in the world to produce, but most of its ¡°new¡± barrels still lie at the high end of the global cost curve. Notes: Ranking as of third quarter 2023 for 30 largest crude oil producers in 2022.
  • Does Kazakhstan have a price problem?
  • Pricing is also an issue in the gas sector, where Kazakhstan has successfully expanded its domestic supply network in recent years, in part to help diversify away from large-scale use of coal in industry and the household sector.