Tengrinews.kz – Kazakhstan plans to conduct exploration work in poorly studied but promising sedimentary basins in terms of oil and gas reserves. This was announced by Minister of Industry and Construction Yersayin Nagaspayev.
According to the minister, the work will focus on the southeastern and northern regions of the country.
“It is planned to carry out seismic exploration within the Shu-Sarysu and North Torgai poorly studied sedimentary basins. The results obtained are expected to form the basis for detailed exploration and prospecting work,” Nagaspayev said at a geological forum in Astana.
Background
The Shu-Sarysu basin is a large sedimentary and water management region in the southeast and central Kazakhstan, covering the valleys of the Shu and Sarysu rivers. It is known as a promising oil and gas region, a copper deposit area, and the largest artesian groundwater basin.
According to the minister, about 10,000 deposits have been registered in Kazakhstan, including more than 1,000 deposits of solid minerals, 359 hydrocarbon deposits, more than 3,700 sites of common minerals, and about 4,900 groundwater sources.
The North Torgai sedimentary basin is a promising but poorly studied oil and gas region in the north of the Kostanay region.
Today, oil in Kazakhstan is mainly produced in the west of the country, where the largest fields and all major infrastructure are concentrated. The main oil-producing regions are Atyrau, Mangystau, West Kazakhstan, and Aktobe regions. Smaller volumes are also produced in the Kyzylorda region.
Earlier, the government reported that in 2025, 40.7 billion tenge were allocated from the reserve for comprehensive geological exploration work.
It was also noted that the current level of geological study in the Shu-Sarysu and North Torgai sedimentary basins does not provide a reliable assessment of oil and gas potential and hydrocarbon resources. Therefore, six seismic exploration projects will be implemented there.
In February, the Committee of Geology of the Ministry of Industry and Construction reported that oil exploration is also planned in another region of Kazakhstan, namely the Kostanay region. The work will begin this year and will be completed within three years.
