MOSCOW, March 18 (UPI) -- Nearly all of the oil produced in Kazakhstan will head to international markets through Russian territory, the Kazakh president declared.
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said during a meeting in Moscow with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that his country could ship at least 490 million barrels of oil per year from Caspian oil fields through Russia.
"That is to say, practically the entire oil produced in Kazakhstan now or in the future will be transported via the Russian Federation," he was quoted by Russia's state-run news agency RIA Novosti as saying.
Kazakhstan's emergence as an energy giant is generating international attention. Richard Jones, deputy executive director of the International Energy Agency, said potential exports from Caspian countries will have a positive impact on European energy security.
The IEA said in a regional report that it saw "very strong potential for growth" when the massive Kashagan oil field in Kazakhstan comes online in 2013.
The U.S. Energy Information Agency estimates that Kazakhstan will become a top oil exporter in the next decade. Proven oil reserves are estimated at 30 billion barrels.
