Gazprom to expand gas trade with Kazakhs

Russian natural gas company Gazprom said there are favorable conditions for increasing the amount of gas it markets to Kazakhstan. Alexei Miller, the top executive at Gazprom, met with Kazakh envoy Zautbek Turisbekov in Moscow to discuss bilateral cooperation in resource exploration and distribution. "The parties highlighted a 10 percent increase in the amount of gas marketed by Gazprom group to Kazakhstan in 2011 as compared to 2010," Gazprom said in a statement. "There are favorable conditions for a further increase in supplies." Gazprom provided no estimate regarding year-on-year natural gas sales to Kazakhstan. Last month, BG Group lead a consortium of energy companies in reaching a multibillion-dollar deal with Kazakh officials to explore the Karachaganak field in northwestern Kazakhstan, which holds roughly 2.4 billion barrels of oil and an estimated 15 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Oil workers rioted in Kazakhstan during the run up to January parliamentary elections, rallying for better pay and the right to organize independent labor unions.