Kazakhstan: Evolving Oil Rentierism

Abstract

During the past few years, the government of Kazakhstan has imposed on transnational companies a review of the agreements signed with them in the nineties, which had created a rentierist dynamics. The thesis in this article is that the initial agreements made Kazakhstan a petro-state. The subsequent review of these agreements caused the national players (government and state oil company) to increase the oil endowment, but this has not given oil empowerment to the country. Therefore, Kazakhstan still does not have the instruments to control its oil production and export, nor does it have the ability to guarantee the enlarged reproduction of the oil cycle. Those instruments and ability still remain in the hands of foreign companies, although they are more diversified after the arrival of the Chinese and Russian big companies.