Kazakhstan oil supplies ready for Belarusian resumption
Belarus and Kazakhstan are set to deepen their economic ties, with a focus on oil and petroleum trade. According to Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Rusy, Kazakh capital is expected to flow into Belarus, potentially participating in mutually beneficial projects.
At a meeting of the Kazakh-Belarusian Committee for Trade and Economic Cooperation in Astana on November 8, Rusy made this statement. Kazakhstan's news agency Kazinform reported the development, while Belarusian news agency BelaPAN confirmed the announcement.
The two-way trade between Belarus and Kazakhstan is expected to reach $1 billion this year, marking a significant increase from the $727 million recorded from January through September. This growth is linked to strategic agreements and growing investment interests aimed at expanding exports and strengthening cooperation.
Kazakhstan's strategic cooperation agreements, such as those signed with Turkey’s national oil company (TPAO) in July 2025, are designed to boost oil exports and develop logistic corridors, like the Middle Corridor linking Asia and Europe. These infrastructure improvements can facilitate increased oil flow across Central Asia, benefiting regional trade partners like Belarus.
Investment interest in the Kazakh oil sector remains strong, as demonstrated by recent partnership deals such as Hungary’s MOL signing agreements with KazMunayGas for exploration, technology transfer, and crude oil supply. Such investment increases Kazakhstan’s oil production and export capacity.
Despite new U.S. tariffs on Kazakh exports, these are linked to geopolitical tensions rather than bilateral trade agreements with Belarus. These tariffs may affect export competitiveness, but Kazakhstan’s diversified partnerships, including with European firms, aim to mitigate that.
EU sanctions on Russian energy imports also encourage Kazakhstan and other Central Asian states to fill the gap, increasing demand for Kazakh oil and petroleum exports across the region. This could potentially enhance Belarus’s role as an oil transit or trade partner.
While no specific recent Belarus-Kazakhstan oil trade agreements were found, Kazakhstan’s expanding oil export capacity, strategic partnerships, and new logistic corridors are poised to increase regional petroleum trade volumes. Belarus likely benefits indirectly from these developments, as Kazakhstan seeks diversified export routes and partners amid shifting global energy geopolitics.
In other news, Russia agreed to ship 4.8 million tonnes of oil despite an incident with solvents in Q4, 2012, demonstrating the country's commitment to maintaining oil supplies. No new projects or investments from Kazakhstan in Belarus were discussed in the current paragraph.
- Belarus, with its growing role as a potential transit partner, may benefit from Kazakhstan's increasing oil exports, driven by strategic agreements and investment interests in the energy sector.
- As Kazakhstan deepens its partnerships in the finance industry, including deals with Europe's MOL, it is anticipated that these investments could further bolster Kazakhstan's oil production and petroleum exports, potentially creating opportunities for Belarusian participation in mutually beneficial projects.
