Indian media reports that the state-owned energy company may fail to buy a $5 billion slice of the Kashagan oil project in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea.

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Kazakhstan has increased export tax on energy products by 50% to stop domestic price rises.

Export duty on a tonne of crude oil will now hit $60, up from $40.

Read the RIA Novosti story here

Indian newspaper the Hindu touts Kazakhstan as the start of the TAPI gas pipeline running across Central Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.

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Statoil, the Norwegian energy giant, has confirmed that it has pulled out of the Abai oil prospect in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea.

The company had first signed a memorandum of understanding with KazMunaiGaz on exploring the block in 2005.

Read the Bloomberg story here

Read the Statoil confirmation here

Kazatomprom, the Kazakh nuclear agency, recorded its highest uranium production in 2012. The 20,900 tonnes mined last year in Kazakhstan represented over a third of total global production.

Read the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty story here

Read the Tengrinews story here

Indian media has reported that the Kazakh government is still deciding whether to allow India’s state energy company to buy a stake in the Kashagan energy project.

State-owned ONGC Videsh agreed a deal with US energy major ConocoPhillips in November to buy its 8.4% stake in the Caspian Sea project for around $5b but the Kazakh government has the right to block the deal and buy the stake instead.

Read the story by the Economic Times here

Read the story by the Hindu here

Kairat Satylganov, a Kazakh businessman, bought a 37.5% stake on Tuesday in Kazakhstan-focused Roxi Petroleum for $40m, City AM reports.

The purchase triggered Roxi’s shares to nearly double in value.

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China could own as much as 40% of Kazakhstan’s oil reserves if a handful of potential deals go through, the Tengrinews website reported.

It said that currently, China owned 30% of the country’s oil reserves.

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India finally buys a large chunk of one of Kazakhstan’s most high profile energy projects after ONGC agrees a deal to buy ConocoPhilip’s 8.4% of Kashagan.

For the Bloomberg/Businessweek story, click here

For the Reuters story, click here

For the Economic Times (India) story, click here

US pipeline engineering company T.D. Williamson says it opens its first office in Kazakhstan