Energy geopolitics Kazakhstan

Unfortunately, oil is concentrated only in certain regions in the global scale while substantial part of countries doesn't possess sufficient oil reserves that could have very harsh long-term consequences for their stability even as political entities. Access for oil for a majority of leading actors such as China, the USA, and the European Union is quite restricted and limited in reality, being based on external sources of it.
In fact that situation entails a complex of quite unstable consequences that are able to grow in importance in time to come. It also means that a political component in energy relations will dominate, complicating the whole range of issues. Modern structure of energy relations under conditions of strengthening of a global competition and an intensification of interdependence between countries and regions seems to be less stable and, that is why, more susceptible to growing energy-geopolitical threats of global and regional scale.

Oil is a heart of the economic development for any society still, and never matter backward or advanced one. Any serious consideration of energy or foreign policy must recognize that now, and for the foreseeable future, oil represents the life's blood of the international economic order. But recent trends show that global energy market becomes more and more unstable and volatile. The reason of it stems from a progressive depletion of oil reserves in some regions, like Mexican and Indonesian ones, and a constantly rapid growth of oil consumption throughout the world.

Kazakhstan, without doubt, is situated not only in the epicenter of oil geopolitics but also in the region that is highly sensitive to any considerable geopolitical shift. Given the size of the Kazakhstan oil sector, the republic has a unique and critical role in the sphere. But Kazakhstan, from the very outset of the statehood, regarded geopolitics not in the terms of rivalry but as a suitable instrument for evolving cooperation and mutual interdependence. The reason is that only understandable, diversified and open oil policy can create favorable conditions for resolving the complex of problems and impasses which become apparent now. Kazakhstan will never take part in unjustified actions that can inflict damage on interests of other players of global oil market. Kazakhstan leadership understands that only cooperative approach is able to promote strategic interests of both exporting and importing countries.

That is why the energy security as a key factor of the international stability is one of main politico-economic priorities for Kazakhstan. The country has already become an important element of global energy infrastructure, and considerable part of the foreign policy of Kazakhstan is highly concentrated on solution of problems of stable and safe export directions of domestic hydrocarbon resources. It is important that Kazakhstan initiated some practical steps to improve a continental energy rapport, for instance, including proposal of Asian Energy Strategy and Asian Energy Dialogue, elaborated with a close involvement of KazEnergy Association, under the SCO structure.

Kazakhstan is blessed with an abundance of natural resources and the giant discoveries at Tengiz, Karachaganak and Kashagan have placed the country among top leaders in terms of worldwide oil reserves. Yet, Kazakhstan is still a country that remains relatively under-explored. So, at a time when new hydrocarbon resources are scarce and exploration is becoming more difficult and costly, the country is ideally placed for further exploration and growth. Peaceful and constructive cooperation is the only factor that is able to provide a sufficient impulse for it.
A major priority of the national energy policy that has a clear geopolitical tinge is to ensure stable and diversified supplies of hydrocarbons to international markets.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-16