The visit of President of Iran Hassan Rouhani to Kazakhstan and his talks with President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, against a background of the growing pressure within the Eurasian Economic Union, have turned to be useful and well-timed. Kazakhstan emphasized on its multi-vector foreign economic policy. This year Iran largely enhanced its regional activity and used the positive effect of the negotiations on lifting of sanctions to expand the bilateral relations with Azerbaijan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and today with Kazakhstan. This is a good sign on the threshold of the Summit of the leaders of the five Caspian littoral states and a good sign in terms of creation of healthy (based on “the basic principle of equality of nations” proclaimed by President of Russia Vladimir Putin in the US media sources) business relations in the Caspian.             

“Iran is one of world’s important partners of Kazakhstan, which is considered as a peaceful neighbor on the coast of the Caspian Sea», Nursultan Nazarbayev said at the meeting in Akorda on September 9. “We do believe that Iran will successfully finish with the problem of the nuclear program and come to a certain decision. It is well-known to be of great importance for the economic development of Iran, our relations”, the president of Kazakhstan continued.

Nursultan Nazarbayev suggested intensifying SWAP oil operations between the two countries across the Caspian region and also informed about the commissioning of the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railroad in November, 2014. “Terminals that we build on the Caspian Sea are of great value for us. The Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railroad enables to increase our food wheat trade five times, that is from current 500 thousand tons up to 2.5 million. The railroad opens up a possibility to handle up to 10 million tons of freight”, Nursultan Nazarbayev said.

The Head of State said with this route Iran “will be able to reach Russian and Chinese markets, and we will reach all states of the Persian Gulf”. 

In turn, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hassan Rouhani highlighted Tehran’s interest to expand a multilateral cooperation with Kazakhstan.

“The visit of our high-ranking delegation to Kazakhstan and the presence of representatives of the private sector here testify a serious will of the Islamic Republic of Iran to develop the relations with Kazakhstan in all spheres”, President Rouhani said.

“We discussed the development matter  in the sphere of simplification of bank contacts and communications. We also dwelt on the matter of perspective cooperation between the Customs Union with Iran”, Hassan Rouhani said at the joint press briefing after the meeting in Akorda.

President Nazarbayev invited Iranian companies to the international exhibition EXPO-2017 in Astana.

Kazakhstan-Azerbaijan 

Still in April of the current year former Minister of Oil and Gas of Kazakhstan Uzakbai Karabalin said if the sanctions of the West against Russia extend to the existing oil supply routes from Kazakhstan to the world markets, the main load will fall on the Caspian direction via Azerbaijan (the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan BTC pipeline system).

If affected, the energy sector “will bring down our export supplies. This is the reason why we should think about other routes. Nowadays we are considering different options”, minister Uzakbai Karabalin said during “the governmental hour” in the parliament in Astana. Transportation via the Caspian Pipeline System (CPS) to Novorossiysk makes over 32 million tonnes of oil a day. “One of the options is a route across the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan, and to Georgia towards the Black Sea Batumi port, with its potential and capacities”. 

Last November Kazakhstan also resumed transportation via the BTC, it made 243.68 ths. tonnes. 

Transportation of Kazakhstan oil (Tengiz) via the BTC was launched at the end of 2008, but suspended in 2010 because of the high, in the opinion of Kazakhstan, tariffs. At the beginning of November Aktau seaport (Kazakhstan) and Tengizchevroil (the joint venture of Chevron, ExxonMobil and KazMunaiGas) signed the agreement on export of 4 million tons of oil per annum via Azerbaijan. Of this, 3 million tons will be transported via the BTC and the rest volumes by rail to the Georgian terminal of Kulevi on the Black Sea.

Kazakhstan-China 

One cannot slough off that “25% of Kazakhstan oil is purchased by the Chinese companies”, President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev said during the meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. 

According to Nursultan Nazarbayev, the main sphere of cooperation today is energy. In the last years a gas pipeline intended for 40bcm of gas for export was laid through Kazakhstan. The capacity of the Atasu-Alashankou oil pipeline has increased to 20 million tonnes per annum.

Two additional oil pumping stations along the Atasu-Alashankou section were constructed and the expansion of the pipeline along the Atyrau-Kenkiyak section and the Kenkiyak-Kumkol section is in process. The Government of the country expects the entire Atyrau-Alashankou route to reach the capacity of 20 million tons by 2015.

The third branch of the Kazakhstan-China gas pipeline is to come on stream in 2016. 

The 30bcma Kazakhstan-China gas pipeline was commissioned in 2012. Nowadays transportation via the two branches of this route towards China is over 63bcm of gas. The construction of the third branch to be commissioned in 2016 is also currently in process. It will provide the chance to transport additional 25bcm of gas. Out of this, 5bcm are intended for the consumers of Kazakhstan in the southern regions.