№ 5 (49), 2011 - KazEnergy

expert opinionIn this regard itshould be notedthat neitherRussia nor theU.S. nor the EUcountries havenot offeredKazakhstanan activeconstruction ofnew pipelineroutes (no oneremembersanything about theCaspian pipelineto Russia) andmuch less theywere going toinvest to them.oil field which has proven reserves of 46.6million tons of oil and in some other projects.We must not forget that in addition to oiland gas sector, China also very actively investsenormous sums to mining and metalsindustry of Kazakhstan. Since the end of 90sof the last century, China's investments toKazakhstan exceeded the amount of $ 3.6billion, making China the eighth foreigninvestor in the country in terms of volume.In this case $ 1.3 billion China invests exclusivelyto the mining industry of Kazakhstan'seconomy.And therefore it is not surprising that almostall of Kazakhstan's exports to China - a raw,first of all - energy raw. Oil and gas is abouta half of Kazakhstan's exports to China, andChinese themselves over the last few yearsin exchange for Kazakh raw materials actuallyturned the republic into the extremelyprofitable for themselves a market for Chinesegoods.Again, unlike Europe, USA and Russia thatcannot boast of these "market achievements"in Kazakhstan, China not only graduallypresses the Kazakh market under itselfwith goods, but also uses the republic's territoryfor transshipment of goods to the entireCentral Asian region as well as surroundingareas of Afghanistan, Russian Siberia, theUrals and the republics of Transcaucasia.Recently China signed an agreement withKazakhstan on cooperation in the field ofrenewable energy sources, co-financing thesecond stage of gas pipeline from Kazakhstanto China, and loan agreement on thereconstruction of an oil refinery plant inAtyrau, Western Kazakhstan.Also, the case of pipeline cooperation betweenthe two countries comes at an acceleratedpace.One gas pipeline, which is 1304 km long,from the Kazakh-Uzbek border to the borderwith China is already laid. There is completedan installation of the second stage ofthe pipeline which length is 1,500 km (itsthroughput capacity - 10 billion cubic meters.of natural gas) through Beineu, Bozoy,Shalkar and Samsonovka to the westernregions of China that thereby makes it possiblefor Beijing to get oil and gas from theregion of the Caspian Sea (and so in the futureto connect Turkmenistan and Azerbaijanto these projects and supplies).It may also be noted the fact that the gasfield of Zhanazhol in Aktobe region is alsopotentially attracting Chinese companiesfor possible investment. But the volume ofdeposits is unlikely to suit the Chinese interms of long-term gas supply (which is forthe Chinese - the main priority).According to experts over the next two orthree years, the Chinese investments to theenergy complex of Kazakhstan will exceed$ 20 billion and it is important to note thatunlike Russian and Western investments,the money comes from China to Kazakhstanalways without any influence of politics andideological «binding».China traditionally has never discusses thegranting of loans to Kazakhstan in a «package»with human rights, freedom of press,of assembly and political parties, and manyother «similar conditions» that are always atthe forefront in Washington and Brussels.So, without a question, the fund, «Samruk-Kazyna» received from the State Bank ofChina a credit of $ 3 billion, and also therewas granted a Chinese loan to Kazakhstanin $ 5 billion for the construction one of thepetrochemical complexes. And there are stilla lot of China's investments for uraniummining, the development of the nuclear industryand other energy projects of Kazakhstan.In general, the overall strategy of China infield of investment to the energy complex ofKazakhstan in comparison with similar policiesof the U.S., EU and Russia looks morepurposeful, calculated for the long term andin financial terms more profitable for Astana.Further implementation of this policy ofBeijing could be prevented by a heightenedanxiety of the Kazakhstani governmentabout the excessive Chinese control overthe Kazakh energy complex with the help of«long-yuan», and any serious disruptions onworld energy markets in the future.96 № 5 (49), 2011