Kazakhstan and US Energy Ministries Explore Collaborative Opportunities

Kazakhstan-US Energy Cooperation

ALMATY, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan's energy ministry said on Friday that it had held talks on energy cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. embassy in the Central Asian country, which is a major energy producer, accounting for around 2% of daily oil supply.

Strategic Priorities in Oil and Gas

In a statement posted on Telegram, the ministry said that the two sides had discussed "the implementation of Kazakhstan's strategic priorities in the oil and gas industry".

Impact of Recent Incidents on Production

U.S. oil companies including Chevron and ExxonMobil have stakes in Kazakhstan's oilfields. The country's production sharply decreased in recent weeks, after incidents at the Tengiz field took it offline for 7-10 days.

Strengthening Bilateral Ties

Drone strikes on tankers and onshore infrastucture serving the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which carries the bulk of Kazakhstan's oil exports for loading at the Russian port of Novorossiysk, have further impacted production.

Washington has in recent months been deepening ties with Kazakhstan, with U.S. President Donald Trump inviting his Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to join his Board of Peace initiative, and to attend the G20 in Miami in December 2026.

(Reporting by Felix Light; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )