Kazakhstan to export oil to China and Iran should anti-Russian sanctions escalate 16 октября 2014, 19:18

Kazakhstan is considering options to exports oil through China and Iran should the sanctions against Russia escalate, Tengrinews reports citing IA Novosti-Kazakhstan.

The Ministry of National Economy of Kazakhstan said that China and Iran were the possible alternative routes to the Russian direction.

"The current situation suggests that the anti-Russian sanctions will not involve blocking of oil and gas deliveries from Russia to the EU, including the Kazakh oil that is shipped through Russian pipelines. However, options to diversify the oil export routes are being considered, and China's large market holds the most promise for Kazakhstan. Iran is another alternative," the Ministry said.

Yet another possibility is to transport oil from Kazakhstan’s Aktau port via the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan.

Earlier, the Minister of National Economy Yerbolat Dossaev said that Kazakhstan was prepared to face further toughening of the Western sanctions against Russia.

“Given the growing risks in the global economy, the ministry is monitoring the global and domestic economic dynamics on a regular basis and evaluating their impact on our economy. Together with the government agencies we have developed anti-crisis plans for various economic scenarios,” he said adding that the Ministry developed a special action plan in case more sanctions are applied against Russia.

Writing by Dinara Urazova, editing by Tatyana Kuzmina