Following a meeting between Zhaslan Madiyev, the Minister of Digital Development, Innovation, and Aerospace, and officials from Boeing, the authorities in Kazakhstan have stated that the first B787 “Dreamliner” will be delivered in late 2025, bringing Astana’s long-held goal of direct flights between Kazakhstan and the United States by the end of 2025 a step closer.

This new aircraft will strengthen Kazakhstan’s aircraft fleet, and expand the country’s air route map.

Boeing’s manufacturing facilities are located worldwide, and in 2023 alone, Boeing earned almost $80 billion The company had long been known for its innovative solutions and high-quality standards until a series of crashes and groundings following cost-cutting measures. On average, a Boeing airplane takes off every two minutes worldwide.

DW shares that Germany has adopted a strategy for importing hydrogen (H2), which is good news for Kazakhstan and a challenge for Russia.

The document, approved on July 24, reportedly outlines plans to replace fossil natural gas with renewable hydrogen. Berlin promises a stable market for H2 producers, as Europe’s largest economy intends to increase its imports due to the lack of domestic production capacity.

Private companies in Germany plan to build a hydrogen pipeline network of about 10,000 kilometers by 2032. Around 40% of this network will be built specifically for hydrogen, while 60% will be adapted gas pipelines. One of these pipelines will be one of the two pipelines previously laid from Lubmin on the Baltic coast to the Czech border, initially intended for Russian gas from Nord Stream.

Germany plans to import 50-70% of its hydrogen needs by 2030, between 95 and 130 terawatt-hours (about 9.5-13 billion cubic meters of natural gas). That’s about as much as Gazprom plans to deliver to the EU this year via the Ukrainian route. Hydrogen demand could reach 500 terawatt-hours by 2045, comparable to the amount of gas supplied through the first Nord Stream before the war in Ukraine.

These plans preclude renewed gas cooperation with Russia, as infrastructure would be adapted to replace natural gas with hydrogen, signaling a long-term change in Germany’s energy policy and a shift from Russian gas.

With its ideal conditions for green hydrogen production in the country’s west, Kazakhstan could become a key supplier for Germany. The strategy envisions a wide range of suppliers to avoid dependence on a single source. Around 40 countries are listed as potential partners, including Kazakhstan and Ukraine. Germany already has specific cooperation agreements with 15 of these countries.

The German economy is preparing to import hydrogen in various forms: gaseous, liquefied, or in the form of hydrogen-containing chemicals such as ammonia and methanol. This diversifies sources and minimizes the risks of dependence on individual suppliers.

Germany’s hydrogen import strategy thus presents significant opportunities for Kazakhstan and other partner countries, creating new prospects for hydrogen exports. At the same time, it presents severe challenges for Russia, limiting its role in Germany’s future energy market.

Kazakhstan’s national oil and gas company, KazMunayGas (KMG), is studying options to increase the shipment of Kazakh crude oil through the Trans-Caspian route. Askhat Khassenov, KMG’s CEO, announced this during negotiations in Baku last week with Rovshan Najaf, president of Azerbaijan’s State Oil Company SOCAR.

In 2022, KMG and SOCAR signed the five-year Aktau-Baku-Ceyhan Oil Transit Agreement to transport 1.5 million tons of crude oil annually.

In 2023, 1.057 million tons of oil were shipped from the Kazakh port of Aktau, and in the first half of this year, the figure exceeded 700,000 tons.

During his visit to Baku, Khassenov visited the BP Sangachal and Azertrans terminals, a Kazakh oil transit hub.