ALMATY – Kazakhstan plans to increase exploration drilling over the next three years, with up to 200 exploration and appraisal wells expected to be drilled by 2028. While the expansion could help replenish the country’s resource base, experts say the real challenge will be turning geological discoveries into economically viable projects.
Yerlan Akbarov. Photo credit: Ministry of Energy. Speaking at the KAZDRILLING conference in Atyrau, Vice Minister of Energy Yerlan Akbarov said exploration and appraisal drilling could reach around 80 wells in 2026 and increase to up to 120 wells annually in 2027–2028, reported the Ministry of Energy on Sept.
7. The government sees higher drilling activity as necessary to identify new deposits and replenish Kazakhstan’s hydrocarbon resource base. The plans come as Kazakhstan seeks to increase geological exploration while also developing the domestic drilling and oilfield services sector.
More drilling targets underexplored basins Particular attention is being given to relatively underexplored sedimentary basins that are considered to have significant oil and gas potential. The government has also simplified the process for allocating such areas.
Following submission of an application, the Ministry of Energy is to hold an auction within 10 working days. The work programs for selected areas require seismic surveys covering at least 30% of the relevant block during the first three years, followed by the drilling of exploration wells.
This approach is intended to accelerate the movement from identifying prospective areas to obtaining more concrete geological data. However, the number of wells drilled will not by itself determine whether the programme succeeds. For investors, the key distinction is between identifying a resource and establishing that it can support a commercially viable project.
“Much work is being done by companies to find these resources, but this is only the beginning of the journey,” said Nurlan Saurambayev, the managing partner of Aurin Capital, an investment and strategic advisory firm focused on mining and natural resources in Kazakhstan.
For a discovered resource to become a developed project, reserves need to be confirmed, appropriate extraction and processing technologies identified, and infrastructure requirements addressed to establish whether the project is feasible. He stressed that this process requires more than geological expertise.
“Mining projects are long-term and capital-intensive, so they need to be implemented sequentially: geological exploration, resource assessment, technological studies, engineering, financing and construction,” Saurambayev said.