ASTANA - Kazakhstan and South Korea continue to strengthen their energy partnership, focusing on investment, technological modernization, and the development of the petrochemical industry. This was announced by Kazakhstan's Vice Minister of Energy Sanzhar Zharkeshov at the 11th meeting of the Kazakh-Korean Joint Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, and Technical Cooperation, Kazinform reports.
According to him, energy cooperation remains a key area of bilateral relations. KazMunayGas and the Korean National Oil Corporation (KNOC) continue to jointly develop oil fields, ensuring supplies to the domestic market and exports. In 2025, oil supplies to the domestic market amounted to approximately 420,000 tons.
Exports to South Korea account for a significant share, fluctuating in recent years: 5.754 million tons in 2022, 5.535 million tons in 2023, 1.723 million tons in 2024, and 1.456 million tons in 2025.
Kazakhstan's commitment to developing the petrochemical industry and producing high-value-added products is particularly noteworthy. In this regard, the country is interested in attracting Korean investment and technology to create modern production facilities.
The two countries are also developing cooperation in the electric power sector. Kazakhstan has already implemented projects to build combined-cycle plants with a capacity of 310 MW in the Atyrau region and 1,000 MW in the Turkestan region. These projects are aimed at improving the efficiency of the energy system and expanding generating capacity.
The Vice Minister emphasized that Kazakhstan will continue its commitment to localizing production and modernizing the energy sector as part of its industry development plan through 2035, creating favorable conditions for Korean investors to participate in new projects.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
June 8, 2026