logo
Kazakhstan's crude oil output, exports rise in first half of 2025

Kazakhstan's crude oil output, exports rise in first half of 2025

The Star15-07-2025
ALMATY, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Kazakhstan's crude oil output in the first half of 2025 rose 11.6 percent year on year to 49.9 million tonnes, Kazinform news agency reported Tuesday.
Kazakhstan's Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov said at a government briefing that the country's oil exports rose 11.9 percent in the same period to 39.6 million tonnes, and the export target for the full year is 70.5 million tonnes.
Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov reaffirmed Kazakhstan's commitment to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners (OPEC+), saying the country is doing its best to meet its obligations under the voluntary output agreement.
However, Bektenov acknowledged that Kazakhstan had faced temporary difficulties in meeting production quotas due to an ongoing expansion project at the Tengiz oil field, the country's largest oil field. Once the project is completed, Kazakhstan will raise its projected obligations, he said.
According to the Energy Ministry, Kazakhstan supplied 1.86 million barrels of crude oil per day in June, up from 1.78 million barrels in May and staying above its voluntary OPEC+ quota.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Laos aims to improve workforce skills and also expand job access for its youth
Laos aims to improve workforce skills and also expand job access for its youth

The Star

time3 hours ago

  • The Star

Laos aims to improve workforce skills and also expand job access for its youth

VIENTIANE (Xinhua: The Lao government, in collaboration with its partner, has launched a skills testing and certification program to improve national workforce standards and promote fair employment opportunities nationwide. The programme was officially launched on Wednesday in Lao capital Vientiane, bringing together key development partners, private sector representatives, and other stakeholders, according to a report from the Lao Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare on Thursday. In his speech, Lao Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Welfare Phongsaysak Inthalath highlighted the importance of skills testing in assessing workers' abilities and recognizing informal skills according to national standards. He emphasized that certification allows experienced workers, especially those without formal qualifications, to gain official recognition, promoting lifelong learning and encouraging continuous upskilling to meet evolving market and technological demands. He added that skills testing is a vital tool for matching employees with suitable jobs and ensuring fair, skills-based pay. It also helps reduce labor turnover, retain skilled workers, and ease migration pressures. The program targets young people, early school leavers, low-skilled workers, and marginalized groups, aiming to equip them with market-relevant vocational skills to enhance their employment prospects and economic resilience. It also supports the government's broader efforts to empower women, youth, and self-employed individuals by improving access to quality skills training. A key goal of the program is to test and certify 250,000 individuals nationwide between 2026 and 2030, contributing to the development of a more capable, competitive, and inclusive workforce. The initiative is expected to boost Laos' socio-economic development by increasing productivity and preparing the labor force to meet the demands of both regional and global markets. - Xinhua

Role of media, think tanks within SCO is of strategic importance, says expert
Role of media, think tanks within SCO is of strategic importance, says expert

Borneo Post

time5 hours ago

  • Borneo Post

Role of media, think tanks within SCO is of strategic importance, says expert

An aerial drone photo taken on July 19, 2025 shows the CBD in Zhengdong New District of Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province. – Xinhua photo BISHKEK (July 24): The media and think tanks play a strategic role within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Kanatbek Aziz, director of the Research Institute of Geopolitics and Strategy of Kyrgyzstan, told Xinhua in a recent interview. 'In a time of intensifying geopolitical turbulence… the role and responsibility of media and think tanks within the SCO framework takes on strategic dimensions – transcending information support,' Aziz said. He said that media and think tanks within the SCO framework perform a dual function. First, they serve as relays – broadcasting the Shanghai Spirit to national and international audiences and forming a coherent image of the SCO as a responsible global actor. Second, they serve as conceptual engines by generating new meanings, setting strategic directions, and providing intellectual guidance for integration processes. 'Their responsibility is institutional: not only to support political messaging, but also to substantiate it with well-reasoned analysis rooted in civilisational codes, regional specificities and the principles of justice, sovereignty, balance of interests and collective security,' the expert said. In today's fragmented information landscape, their task is not only to inform, but to generate trust, defend the SCO's narrative space from external distortion, and facilitate the emergence of a new model of multilateralism, he said. 'The synergy between media and think tanks can provide the intellectual foundation for multipolar solidarity and transform the expert-informational dimension into a strategic pillar of the SCO's regional and global role,' he said. Aziz will participate in the SCO Media and Think Tank Summit, which is held in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou, Henan province from July 23 to 27. He said the summit should be viewed not merely as a platform for exchanging opinions, but as a potential starting point for building a new systemic architecture of cooperation between the media and analytical communities of SCO member states. Amid the growing fragmentation of the global information landscape and intensifying competition over narratives, 'the creation of a common intellectual and media space within the SCO is a strategic imperative,' the expert said. The expert believes that the summit may lay the groundwork for a new model of institutional interaction – aimed at consolidating a unified discourse, coordinating strategic narratives, and integrating informational, educational and analytical tools. 'These elements – convergence, trust, multilateralism and civilisational connectivity – form the institutional basis of the SCO as a subject of the emerging global configuration,' Aziz said. – Xinhua

China calls for opposition to unilateral tariffs, defense of multilateral trading system at WTO
China calls for opposition to unilateral tariffs, defense of multilateral trading system at WTO

The Star

time16 hours ago

  • The Star

China calls for opposition to unilateral tariffs, defense of multilateral trading system at WTO

GENEVA, July 23 (Xinhua) -- China has called for opposition to unilateral tariff actions and the defense of the multilateral trading system at a two-day meeting of the World Trade Organization's (WTO) General Council, which concluded here on Wednesday. In a statement presented at the meeting, the Chinese delegation noted that global trade turbulence is intensifying, marked by rising uncertainty and increased risks of fragmentation. In recent months, new unilateral tariff measures have continued to emerge, and the volume of trade affected by restrictive measures has reached 2.7 trillion U.S. dollars, the highest level since statistics became available in 2009, the delegation said. Against this backdrop, the delegation called on WTO members to strengthen solidarity and cooperation, and to more effectively support the multilateral trading system. The delegation elaborated on a three-pronged "SDR" framework previously proposed by China, namely "Stability as the cornerstone, Development as the priority, and Reform as the pathway," noting that the proposed efforts include jointly upholding WTO principles such as the most-favored-nation (MFN) treatment and non-discrimination, supporting the integration of developing members into the multilateral trading system, and advancing in-depth WTO reform. The delegation stressed that bilateral agreements reached or related measures taken by relevant members to ease trade tensions must comply with WTO rules. The delegation also suggested that the WTO Secretariat strengthen its monitoring and analysis of unilateral measures and bilateral agreements, and promptly inform members of their impact, especially the potential negative spillover effects on third-party members. Brazil, the European Union, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Venezuela and other WTO members stated at the meeting that escalating trade turbulence is not in the common interest of members. Unilateral tariff measures, they noted, undermine the foundation of multilateral rules, significantly raise costs for businesses and consumers, and particularly hinder the economic growth and social development of vulnerable developing members. Given the current circumstances, they emphasized that upholding the multilateral trading system has become more critical than ever.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store