A threat by the Kazak government to take control of a major foreign-run oil project has raised a few concerns about investment risk, but the move appears to have specifically addressed problems with the giant Kashagan oil field, which is seen as vital to the country’s future.

Something like a truce has now been reached in the government’s dispute with the Agip KCO consortium which is developing the offshore Caspian field, but analysts says that even if the government was to seek a bigger role in the project, it would not get the oil out of the ground any quicker than the current arrangement.