Kazakhstan's Economics Minister said Wednesday the government has lowered this year's oil output forecast to 67.6 million tons. Bakhyt Sultanov said the volume has been revised downward from the Energy Ministry's earlier projection of 70 million tons. The new estimate means output this year will be closer to that of 2007, when Kazakhstan produced around 67 million tons of oil. Sultanov said the projection was readjusted to factor in the impact of repair works and confirmed output figures from January to April, the Associated Press reported. Kazakhstan is the second-largest oil producer among former Soviet states after Russia. The setback will come as a disappointment to the government, which has said it aims to increase its oil output twofold by 2015.
