Six countries stopped purchasing crude oil from Kazakhstan in the first quarter of 2025, according to the Telegram channel Tengenomika, citing data from Kazakhstan’s State Revenue Committee (KGR).
In the first three months of the year, Kazakhstan’s crude oil exports fell by 14% in volume — from 17.8 million to 15.3 million tonnes — and by 21% in monetary terms, from $10.8 billion to $8.5 billion.
South Korea, India, the United Kingdom, Croatia, Poland, and Brunei completely halted imports of Kazakh oil. Exports also dropped significantly to China (down 82%, or $827 million) and Singapore (down 74%, or $238 million).
For comparison, in Q1 2024, total exports to these eight countries amounted to $2.26 billion. In the same period of 2025, exports to China and Singapore totaled only $207 million.
At the same time, Kazakhstan saw increased oil exports to several European markets, including Bulgaria (+207%, or $23 million), Spain (+182%, or $317 million), Azerbaijan (+128%, or $13 million), Romania (+35%, or $124 million), as well as Greece and the Netherlands (+17%, or $51 million and $37 million, respectively).
“Despite rising production, exports are stalling. The Asian market is in a coma,” commented Tengenomika author Ruslan Sultanov.
The sharp decline in Chinese demand for Kazakh oil may be tied to the country’s slowing economic growth and rapid shift toward electric vehicles. Meanwhile, South Korea is gradually diversifying its suppliers and increasingly relying on energy imports from the United States, Sultanov notes.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
April 30, 2025