Breathing Oil in Near a Massive Water Basin in Kazakhstan

If you ever see red on an air quality app, you know there’s a problem.And that’s what residents of Kenkiyak and Shubarshi, two small villages in western Kazakhstan, would have seen for most of the past three months on a state-run monitoring service, as they were forced to breathe pollutants likely produced by aggressive oil extraction taking place nearby.Located in the center of the Aktobe region, the two villages sit next to the Kokzhide desert, which hosts the largest underground freshwater basin in western Kazakhstan.To the naked eye, however, what’s visible are the many rows of pumpjacks, as they extract oil from the steppe, potentially contaminating the reservoir as they do so.Oil extraction in the area represents under 1% of Kazakhstan’s total annual output and has been regularly criticized by residents and environmental activists for its proximity to the water basin.They fear that the drilling and pumping process could lead to leaks or spills, polluting the freshwater with dangerous chemicals.Beyond the soil and water, however, oil extraction could also be polluting the nearby air.New official air quality monitoring data reviewed by Vlast has shown excessive concentrations of sulphur dioxide (SO₂), hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), which are all toxic pollutants often linked to oil extraction.If unaddressed, experts say, these emissions will pose serious risks to air quality and public health, particularly for residents living and working near the oil fields. A map of the villages near the Kokzhide water basin. (Vlast) The Kokzhide protected area (in yellow) and the proposed expanded map (in blue).