Kathmandu, January 9
International oil prices have risen this week due to unrest in the Central Asian country of
Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan is the largest exporter of petroleum products in Central Asia. In 2020, it produced about 1.8 million barrels of oil per day. Similarly, Kazakhstan is the second largest oil producer after Russia among the OPEC Plus countries.
But oil prices have risen amid fears that supply could be disrupted due to recent unrest in
Kazakhstan, AFP reported. ”Riots could disrupt production and supply,” said Bezarni Schildrop, an analyst at Swedish bank SEB.
The price of crude oil reached above 83 per barrel on Friday. Overall international oil profits
rose 5 percent last week as oil prices rose.
A state of emergency has been declared in Kazakhstan’s largest city, Almaty, and in the province of Mangistau, after protests against the sharp rise in fuel prices intensified since
Sunday. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev on Tuesday declared a state of emergency
after protesters stormed a government building and clashed with police.
Dozens of protesters were killed and at least eight government officials were injured in an
operation by Kazakh security forces to restore peace and order on Thursday. President Tokayev immediately called on the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) to help keep the situation under control.
Russia has sent troops to Kazakhstan to restore peace and order at the request of President
Tokayev. But the United States has said Russia’s move to send troops to Kazakhstan was wrong. On Friday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called on Russia to confirm its decision to send troops.
Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement that Blinken’s remarks were ‘offensive’ and that he was ‘joking’ about the tragedy in Kazakhstan. Russia also says it needs to ‘analyze’ the history of US military intervention in countries such as Vietnam and Iraq.
By Karuna Thapa
