OPEC official website - https://www.opec.org/
Cooperation with the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is of great interest to Kazakhstan, given OPEC's important role in the global oil market. Kazakhstan cooperates with OPEC and non-OPEC countries (so-called OPEC+) to stabilize the global oil market and restore investor confidence in the oil industry.
Maintaining a sustainable global oil market is in the interests of the Republic of Kazakhstan, where the oil industry plays a significant role in the economy. In 2022, Kazakhstan produced 84.2 million tons of crude oil, making the country the 12th largest producer in the world.
To date, the only full-fledged mechanism for interaction and discussion of the current situation in the global oil market with OPEC member states are technical meetings between OPEC and non-OPEC countries. As part of its participation in OPEC+, Kazakhstan, along with Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, South Sudan and Sudan, takes on voluntary oil production limitations.
On December 10, 2016 the Minister of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan K.Bozumbayev participated in the first Ministerial Meeting of OPEC member states and non-OPEC countries. The Ministerial Meeting resulted in the signing of the historic "Agreement on a Concerted Reduction of Oil Production", under which non-OPEC countries are to reduce oil production by 558,000 barrels per day. The agreement entered into force on 1 January 2017 and remained in force until the end of June 2017.
On 23-29 September 2019, OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo visited Kazakhstan to participate in the 12th Eurasian Forum Kazenergy, Kazakhstan Energy Week. During his speech, he thanked Kazakhstan for its active and effective participation in the Declaration of Cooperation between OPEC and non-OPEC countries, and expressed confidence in the country's subsequent contribution to sustainable stability in the global oil market. In addition, he noted Kazakhstan's rich 120 years of experience in the oil industry and highlighted the success of major projects such as the Kashagan field and the Tengizchevroil project. On 5-6 December 2019, the delegation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, headed by Vice-Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan M.Zhurebekov took part in the 17th meeting of the OPEC Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) and the Seventh Ministerial Meeting of OPEC and Non-OPEC Member Countries. The event included the signing ceremony of the Charter on Cooperation between OPEC Member Countries and Non-OPEC States. This document provides an institutional framework for cooperation within the framework of OPEC+ cooperation. It represents a high-level commitment that is voluntarily implemented by individual participating countries and does not create any legal obligations between them. Participation in the Charter is voluntary and open to all oil-producing countries.
Ministerial meetings of OPEC member states and non-member countries currently take place every six months.
OPEC FUND FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
To date, Kazakhstan's cooperation with the OPEC Fund for International Development is at the initial stage of discussions.
All developing countries other than the founding states are eligible to benefit from the Fund, but the least developed countries are given priority. To date, more than 125 countries around the world have already received financial support from the Fund.
Since 1990, the Fund has also been active in the Central Asian countries. For example, in 2013, the Fund supported the activities of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) in Kazakhstan by providing co-financing to Kazakhstan's largest agribusiness enterprise APK-Invest LLP to export wheat to Asian countries. The Fund also co-financed regional projects of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to address HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis among vulnerable populations.
On 2-6 September 2017, the delegation of the Fund headed by the Director General S.Al-Herbish visited Kazakhstan to participate in the International specialized exhibition "EXPO-2017". During the visit, S.Al-Herbish met with A.Arifkhanov, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Baiterek JSC and E.Khairov, Vice-Minister of Investment and Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan. During the meetings S.Al-Herbish informed of the Fund's activities and expressed readiness to cooperate in joint projects.
On 29 January 2019, as part of the visit of a Kazakh delegation to Vienna, a meeting was organised between A.Eshmatov, Deputy Director of the Entrepreneurship Development Department of the Ministry of National Economy and A.T.Cordero, Director of the Public Sector Operations Department (Asian Region) of the OPEC Fund, during which the parties discussed prospects for cooperation.
During the meeting, A.T.Cordero informed ofthe Fund's work, including assisting developing countries by providing financing for building basic infrastructure, improving public service delivery and promoting production, competitiveness and trade.
In October 2022, on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington, D.C., a meeting was held between the Director General of the Fund A.Alkhalifa, and the Minister of National Economy A.Kuantyrov to discuss ways to establish cooperation.