Which CIS countries are significant net energy exporters?
Russia is the largest producer and exporter of both oil and natural gas in the CIS. It accounts for about 80 percent of the CIS’s crude oil production and a similar share of regional net exports; the bulk (about 85 percent) of its crude oil exports go to countries outside the CIS. Natural gas from Russia accounts for about 25 percent of total natural gas exports to Central and Western Europe. Kazakhstan, which is rapidly emerging as a major oil producer, is the second largest oil producer in the region; most of its exports also go to non-CIS countries. Azerbaijan is a net oil exporter as well, with its exports transiting Georgia and Russia to world markets. Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are large producers and exporters of natural gas within the CIS; they are unable to export to Central and Western Europe because of restrictions on their access to Russian transit pipelines.
