Kazakhstan Business & Economy - The Times Of Central Asia

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E-Commerce

After Wildberries Drone Attacks, Kazakhstan Minister Urges Support for Local Marketplaces

Kazakhstan's Trade and Integration Minister Arman Shakkaliyev has encouraged consumers to shop on domestic online marketplaces, urging them not to base their purchases solely on the lowest prices offered by foreign platforms and invoking what he called “economic patriotism.” Speaking to reporters, Shakkaliyev advised consumers to use marketplaces they trust, saying that domestic platforms offered greater assurance that purchases would be delivered. He was responding to questions about the disruption affecting Wildberries after drone attacks on its Russian facilities. On August 2, Ukrainian drones struck a Wildberries warehouse in Novosemeykino, in the Samara region, causing a fire. The following day, Wildberries said a separate logistics facility in the Vladimir region had also caught fire following an attack. No casualties were initially reported at either site. Shakkaliyev's remarks come amid reports that Wildberries is seeking additional warehouse capacity in Kazakhstan. According to sources familiar with the discussions, the company is looking for approximately 100,000 square meters of warehouse space in Kazakhstan, although no single vacant facility of that size is currently available on the local market. The issue has also drawn attention in Moscow. Speaking on the sidelines of the Third Russia-Kazakhstan Media Forum, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said efforts to integrate Russian and Kazakhstan-based online marketplaces had begun well before the recent attacks on logistics infrastructure and were continuing. He noted that more than 100,000 suppliers from Kazakhstan were registered on the Russian marketplaces Wildberries and Ozon, another e-commerce giant. Kazakhstan's Ministry of Trade and Integration has previously stated that it has not yet received an official request from Wildberries to establish additional warehouse facilities in the country. The ministry said that any such proposal would be reviewed in accordance with Kazakhstan's legislation and national interests. It added that all market participants would be subject to the same rules, without special preferences or exemptions.

Robot Delivery

Kazakhstan Tests Yandex Robot Couriers in Astana

Astana has begun testing robot couriers for grocery deliveries in selected areas of the capital, allowing some residents to receive orders from Yandex Lavka without a human courier. Under the pilot project, customers within the service zone can select robot delivery when ordering through the Yandex Go app. The small autonomous vehicles travel along pavements before stopping outside the customer’s address, where the storage compartment can be opened using the app. The project is being run by Yandex Qazaqstan with the Astana city administration, the city police department and the municipal technology company Astana Innovations, according to an announcement by the Astana authorities. The robots use cameras and other sensors to identify pedestrians and obstacles, and travel at around 6 kilometers per hour. Initial street testing began on July 15, before the service was opened to regular Yandex Lavka customers later in the month. In a statement issued by the Astana city administration, Gizat Amirgali, chairman of Astana Innovations, said the trial would be used to assess the safety and reliability of autonomous deliveries in ordinary urban conditions, as well as customer responses to the service. Yandex has operated robot couriers in Russian cities for several years and is expanding their use. In March, the company said its robots had completed more than one million deliveries and traveled over two million kilometers in Russia, although the Astana project remains a small and geographically limited trial. The launch comes as Kazakhstan experiments with several forms of automated delivery and transport. A separate drone-delivery pilot, planned for Almaty, is intended to test the transport of food, medicines and everyday goods over short urban routes.

OPEC

Kazakhstan OPEC+ Oil Production Target Rises After Output Agreement

Kazakhstan's OPEC+ crude oil production target will rise by 10,000 barrels per day in September to 1.628 million barrels per day after seven producers agreed to increase their combined target by 188,000 barrels per day. The decision completes the gradual restoration of 1.65 million barrels per day of production withheld under voluntary cuts announced in April 2023. Following a virtual meeting on August 2, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman agreed to the latest adjustment. The United Arab Emirates was part of the original group implementing the voluntary cuts but left OPEC and OPEC+ on May 1, reducing the group making the monthly decisions from eight countries to seven. OPEC's rounded country allocations raise the targets of Saudi Arabia and Russia by 62,000 barrels per day each, Iraq by 26,000, Kuwait by 16,000, Kazakhstan by 10,000, Algeria by 6,000, and Oman by 5,000 barrels per day. OPEC+ said the adjustment would allow participating countries to accelerate compensation for previous overproduction. It does not cancel Kazakhstan's obligation to offset all excess volumes produced since January 2024 by producing below its applicable targets in future months. Kazakhstan has faced sustained pressure within OPEC+ after repeatedly producing above its agreed limits. The expansion of the Tengiz oilfield has pushed national output to record levels, while Astana has repeatedly said it intends to meet its compensation commitments. Reuters reported that successive OPEC+ increases this year have remained largely on paper because export disruptions have constrained supply from the Gulf, Russia, and Kazakhstan. Sources had indicated that the group could pause further increases in the fourth quarter, although the August 2 statement made no commitment on production policy for the final three months of 2026. Recent disruptions at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium provide an immediate limit on what Kazakhstan's higher target may mean. The Times of Central Asia reported on August 3 that tankers were loading and Kazakhstan had restored crude intake after attacks near CPC's Black Sea terminal, but the available statements did not establish a full return to planned export volumes. CPC handles more than 80% of Kazakhstan's crude exports, so renewed loading restrictions could again force producers to cut output regardless of the higher quota. OPEC+ is also reviewing members' production capacity before setting the baselines that will apply in 2027. The seven producers will meet again on September 6 to assess market conditions and decide whether to make further changes.

Caspian Pipeline Consortium

Chevron Says CPC Is Loading Tankers as Kazakhstan Restores Oil Intake

Chevron CEO Mike Wirth said that oil was flowing through the CPC pipeline and tankers were being loaded on July 31, one day after two vessels were attacked near its Black Sea terminal. Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry said intake reached 100,000 metric tons a day from August 1 and rejected reports of a complete shutdown. “The pipeline is flowing. We’ve been loading ships this week,” Wirth said during Chevron’s second-quarter earnings call. He said two of CPC’s three single-point moorings were in service. The third was undergoing refurbishment and was expected to return during the third quarter. The ministry said CPC temporarily suspended pipeline system operations on July 31 but continued receiving crude and filling storage tanks. A complete shutdown “is not being considered,” it said. Further increases would depend on tankers arriving for loading near Novorossiysk. The two statements indicate that loadings restarted quickly after the July 30 attacks, but do not establish a full return to planned export volumes. CPC can receive crude while storage space remains available, but if tanker loadings fall behind, storage fills and producers must cut output as they did in late July. On August 2, OPEC+ raised Kazakhstan’s September target by 10,000 barrels per day to 1.628 million barrels. The increase formed part of a combined 188,000-barrel-per-day rise for Kazakhstan and six other producers. The group said countries that had exceeded their quotas since January 2024 would make up for the excess by producing less in future months. A separate OPEC+ monitoring committee, which includes Kazakhstan, stressed the “critical importance” of safeguarding international maritime routes and expressed concern about attacks on energy infrastructure. Its statement did not name CPC or the Black Sea incidents. For Kazakhstan, the higher quota may have little immediate effect if export flows remain constrained. Reuters has reported that OPEC+ may pause further increases after September while it reviews production capacity for quota baselines which will apply in 2027. The immediate risk is a repeat of late July, when disrupted loadings filled storage and forced sharp production cuts at Tengiz and other major fields. CPC loadings had resumed on July 27 after a week-long suspension. Three days later, two more tankers were attacked near the terminal. NISSOS SIFNOS was struck while loading Tengizchevroil crude at the SPM-3 offshore mooring, while MARATHI was hit while waiting for a berth about six nautical miles offshore. Both fires were extinguished, and no injuries to the crews or pollution were reported. Neither CPC nor Kazakhstan publicly identified an attacker. Ukraine’s drone forces later said they had struck four Russian tankers in the Black and Azov seas, but did not name the vessels or locations. The earlier stoppage had already demonstrated how swiftly export disruption can reach Kazakhstan’s oilfields. National oil and gas condensate production fell to about one million barrels per day on July 26, less than half the June average of 2.16 million barrels per day. CPC runs for about 1,510 kilometers from western Kazakhstan through Russia to the Black Sea. It handles...

Trans-Caspian Cable

Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan Begin Laying Trans-Caspian Fiber-Optic Cable

Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have begun laying a fiber-optic cable across the Caspian Sea, marking the start of offshore construction on a long-planned digital connection between Central Asia and the South Caucasus. A specialized cable-laying vessel has departed the Port of Baku and begun laying the line toward Aktau, the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of Kazakhstan announced. Weather permitting, the underwater installation is expected to take 15 to 20 days. Testing and commissioning are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2026. The 380-kilometer cable will connect Sumgait in Azerbaijan with Aktau in western Kazakhstan. It will be capable of transmitting up to 400 terabits of data per second, according to AzerTelecom. The full system, including testing and commissioning, is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2026. The project is being implemented by CaspiLink B.V., a joint venture established by Kazakhstan’s Kazakhtelecom and Azerbaijan’s AzerTelecom. It forms part of the Digital Silk Way initiative, a planned telecommunications corridor linking Asia and Europe. Preparatory work included surveys of the Caspian seabed and the selection of a route avoiding anchorage areas and military exercise zones. The armored cable was manufactured and tested in China before being delivered to the Kazakh port of Kuryk and transported to Baku for installation. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, the project had entered active implementation after several years of delays and changes among the participating companies. The cable was first proposed in 2019, although earlier completion targets were not met. Once operational, the link will provide a direct subsea data route between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. It will also expand Kazakhstan’s capacity to carry internet traffic between Asian and European networks.

Copper Smelting

Kazakhstan Targets 50% Increase in Refined Copper Output with Balkhash Smelter

Kazakhstan plans to increase refined copper production by around 50% after approving the construction of a new smelter in Balkhash, one of the country’s largest industrial projects in recent years. The government expects the plant to expand exports of products with greater added value and reinforce Kazakhstan’s position among the world’s leading copper producers. The investment agreement was signed between the Ministry of Industry and Construction and Qazaq Smelter LLP and approved by Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov. The project forms part of Kazakhstan’s strategy to increase domestic processing of mineral resources and reduce exports of raw materials. Private investment is estimated at 750 billion tenge, or approximately $1.6 billion. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2027, with commissioning planned for 2030. The smelter will have an annual production capacity of 300,000 metric tons of cathode copper, 10 metric tons of gold, 300 metric tons of silver, and more than 1.5 million metric tons of sulfuric acid. According to government estimates, the new facility will raise Kazakhstan’s total refined copper output to more than 800,000 metric tons per year. Exports of cathode copper and other processed copper products are expected to increase from 460,000 metric tons to 760,000 metric tons annually. The project will create around 1,200 permanent jobs. Kazakh citizens are expected to account for 90% of the workforce when the plant enters operation, rising to 95% over time. The investor has also committed to financing the education of 50 students each year at educational institutions in Karaganda Region to help train future specialists. Government data show that Kazakhstan’s manufacturing sector expanded by 9.8% during the first half of 2026, while cathode copper production reached 232,000 metric tons. Officials have repeatedly identified deeper processing of mineral resources as one of the country’s principal industrial-policy priorities. Kazakhstan already ranks among the world’s major copper producers. Production is concentrated within several vertically integrated mining groups, led by Kazakhmys, which operates mining and smelting facilities in Zhezkazgan and Balkhash. Other major producers include KAZ Minerals, whose flagship operations are Aktogay and Bozshakol, and Kazzinc, which produces refined copper alongside zinc, lead, and precious metals. The new Balkhash smelter is part of Kazakhstan’s effort to increase domestic processing as global demand for copper rises. Expanding power grids and the growth of electric vehicles are expected to support demand in the coming years. The Times of Central Asia previously reported that Australia’s C29 Metals partnered with Kazakh companies to explore new copper and gold deposits. The partnership is another example of international interest in the country’s mineral resources.