Kazakhstan reports on oil output

Kazakhstan's government announced recently that some 2.9 mm tons of crude oil had been extracted in the month of September, steady on the August figure of 2.9 mm tons but up about 7.4 % on the September 2000 figure of 2.9 mm tons. The government also noted that 26.3 mm tons of crude had been produced in the January-September period of this year, 19 % up on the figure of 22.1 mm tons posted in the same period of last year.
The year-on-year increase in output is likely to persist. In the first nine months of 2001, Kazakhstani oil wells yielded more than 85.9 % of the total 30.6 mm tons produced between January and December of 2000.

Kazakhstani officials have said they hope to see oil output levels reach 40 mm tons this year. President Nursultan Nazarbayev even said last year that his country would eventually be extracting enough oil to rival Saudi Arabia.
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Vladimir Shkolnik reiterated that comment last month, saying that Kazakhstani oil output might rise to 400 mm tpy (8 mm bpd), comparable to Saudi Arabia's current production rate. Once Kazakhstan reaches that level, Shkolnik declared, it will surely become one of the world's most important oil suppliers.