On the back of a strong performance in the commodities markets, Central Asia’s largest economy and oil producer, Kazakhstan, saw Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increase by 7.1% in the 1st half of 2011 compared to GDP growth in 2009 of just 1.2%. Major contributors in 2011 were trade (up 14.3%), transportation (6.5%) and industry (5.8%).
Economic output grew by 7.3% in 2010 and the economy was worth approximately $US150 billion with capital investment reaching nearly $US13 billion in the 1st half of 2011.
Kazakhstan ranks 2nd amongst the former Soviet states in attracting investment, behind only Russia and on a per capita basis investment in Russia and Kazakhstan are in fact on similar levels.
In terms of oil and gas production, a January 2014 release from the Presidential Press Service said that Kazakhstan was planning to produce 83 million tons of oil and 41 billion cubic meters of natural gas, as well as refine 14.7 million tons of oil during 2014. In 2013, Kazakhstan produced 81.8 million metric tons of oil and 42.3 cubic meters of natural gas (NB: 1 ton of oil is equivalent to ~7 barrels).
Kazakhstan, an oil producer since 1911, has the second-largest oil reserves as well as the second-largest oil production among the former Soviet republics after Russia, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Kazakhstan's proven oil reserves were estimated at 30 billion barrels by the Oil & Gas Journal in January 2013 and current projections have Kazakhstan’s forecasted oil output at 132.1million tons by 2020.