Kazakhstan aims to handle half of the Caspian Sea's commodity cargoes by 2013 after expanding its fleet of oil tankers with the help of private investors, the country's transport minister said on Monday.
The larger fleet will allow Central Asia's top oil producer to ship 57 per cent more crude via the Caspian port of Aktau by 2014, in preparation for the launch of major new projects, Minister of Transport and Communications Abelgazi Kusainov said.
'Today, we ship 30 per cent of all cargoes in the Caspian. We are already acquiring large tankers and by 2013 intend to have a 50 per cent share of all cargoes, primarily oil and grain,' Mr Kusainov told Reuters in an interview.
Kazakhstan is one of five countries with a coastline on the Caspian Sea. The others are Azerbaijan, Iran, Russia and Turkmenistan.
Kazakhstan, which has attracted over US$100 billion in foreign investment since gaining independence two decades ago, is home to the Kashagan oilfield, the world's largest oil find in four decades which is due to start output in the next few years.
Kashagan, a project run by several international energy majors, will eventually be able to ship 56 million tonnes of crude per year. In its first phase, annual shipments of 7.5 million tonnes will move by tanker and rail by 2013.
The existing Tengizchevroil venture, run by US oil major Chevron, also is expected to contribute to a rise in crude production when it completes an expansion to raise output by 60-90 per cent by 2016.
'There was a time when we didn't have a single tanker and had to use vessels brought from Azerbaijan and elsewhere,' Mr Kusainov said. 'Today, we have six tankers of our own, and in the next few years there will be more.'
Kazakhstan produces about 70 million tonnes of oil annually and exports most of it via Russia and the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which has an outlet on the Mediterranean Sea.
The larger fleet will allow Central Asia's top oil producer to ship 57 per cent more crude via the Caspian port of Aktau by 2014, in preparation for the launch of major new projects, Minister of Transport and Communications Abelgazi Kusainov said.
'Today, we ship 30 per cent of all cargoes in the Caspian. We are already acquiring large tankers and by 2013 intend to have a 50 per cent share of all cargoes, primarily oil and grain,' Mr Kusainov told Reuters in an interview.
Kazakhstan is one of five countries with a coastline on the Caspian Sea. The others are Azerbaijan, Iran, Russia and Turkmenistan.
Kazakhstan, which has attracted over US$100 billion in foreign investment since gaining independence two decades ago, is home to the Kashagan oilfield, the world's largest oil find in four decades which is due to start output in the next few years.
Kashagan, a project run by several international energy majors, will eventually be able to ship 56 million tonnes of crude per year. In its first phase, annual shipments of 7.5 million tonnes will move by tanker and rail by 2013.
The existing Tengizchevroil venture, run by US oil major Chevron, also is expected to contribute to a rise in crude production when it completes an expansion to raise output by 60-90 per cent by 2016.
'There was a time when we didn't have a single tanker and had to use vessels brought from Azerbaijan and elsewhere,' Mr Kusainov said. 'Today, we have six tankers of our own, and in the next few years there will be more.'
Kazakhstan produces about 70 million tonnes of oil annually and exports most of it via Russia and the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which has an outlet on the Mediterranean Sea.