17 Jun 2009 16:57

Kazakh Energy Ministry not altering 2009 oil production target of 77 mln tonnes

ASTANA. June 17 (Interfax) - The Kazakh Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has left its forecast for oil and gas condensate production in 2009 unchanged at 77 million tonnes.

"As for production volumes, we haven't altered [the forecast]," Kazakh Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sauat Mynbayev told journalists in Astana on Wednesday.

Economics and Budget Planning Minister Bakhyt Sultanov said earlier that the forecast for oil production could be lowered by 3 million tonnes this year due to the decline in global oil prices.

According to the State Statistics Committee, Kazakhstan produced 58.714 million tonnes of crude in 2008, up 6.2% from 2007, and 12.024 million tonnes of gas condensate, up 1.4%.