Kazakhstan’s energy minister will stand down from his role, the country’s presidential office said on Tuesday, as the government struggles to convince U.S. and European oil companies to lower production that exceeds OPEC+ targets.
Almasadam Satkaliyev will become the head of the country’s newly created atomic energy agency, the presidential office said in a decree published on Tuesday. It remains unclear who will succeed Satkaliyev as the head of the energy ministry.
Satkaliyev led the ministry since April 2023.
OPEC has said Kazakhstan was the biggest contributor to a jump in February crude output by OPEC+.
Last week, he travelled to the United States for talks with oil majors Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, Eni and Honeywell, all of which operate in Kazakhstan.
Satkaliyev said discussions were aimed at reducing oil output to align the country’s supply with OPEC+ targets. The ministry did not disclose the outcome of the talks.
The Central Asian country produced 1.767 million barrels per day (bpd) in February, up from 1.570 million bpd in January. Its OPEC+ quota is 1.468 million bpd.
The ministry has said the increase was due to the expansion of the Tengiz field, led by Chevron, and pledged to comply better with its quota.
Kazakhstan does not have nuclear power plants but sits on large uranium reserves, which account for about 15% of the world’s total and are second only to Australia’s.
(Reporting by Mariya Gordeyeva in Almaty Writing by Maxim Rodionov Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Louise Heavens)