The seminar was opened by Mr Malik Salimgereev, Director of the Oil Industry Development Department of the Kazakh Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. In his comments, Mr Salimgereev emphasised the relevance of the seminar for producer countries like Kazakhstan, which is one of the largest exporters of hydrocarbons in the region. Kazakhstan relies on transit to reach its important export markets, while also serving as a transit country for hydrocarbon resources from other states in the region.

In view of the volatility of oil prices over the past year, the seminar participants focused particularly on the role of fundamental and speculative elements in oil price movements. The analysis of regional differences in gas pricing, including pricing in liquid markets and under long-term contracts, was also a leading theme. It was noted that the sort of commodity pricing mechanisms operating for oil have not yet been widely established in the case of gas. Moreover, various regions have developed different principles for gas trade and this has fostered the emergence of different pricing mechanisms. A special focus was on LNG markets and their role in the development of global gas trade.

The seminar drew extensively from the Secretariat's publication Putting a Price on Energy: International Pricing Mechanisms for Oil and Gas (2007). The discussion during the seminar and the feedback from the participants will be taken into consideration in the preparation of an updated version of this study. This seminar on pricing mechanisms is the latest in the series of such meetings organised in Energy Charter member states, and the second to take place in Kazakhstan.