Oil-Rich Saudi Arabia May Have Competition In Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan, the former Soviet Republic, could be exporting as much oil as Saudi Arabia by 2015, following the discovery of large amounts of hydrocarbons in the Kashagan offshore oil structure, according to the country's President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Iran is joining in a high-stakes contest to build pipelines for this Caspian crude, said Mohammed Adeli, Iranian deputy foreign minister. "We are very enthusiastic about the new oil find," he added. "That is why we are throwing our hat in the ring." Adeli told an Eurasian Economic Summit that Iran hoped to build two pipelines to accomodate 1.8 million barrels a day from Kazakhstan.