Azernews.Az

US President George Bush has said investments should be made in the resource-rich Caspian region to ramp up oil production.

"The basin could play a key role in ensuring the world`s energy security in the future. But additional investment is needed to increase output," he said.

The Caspian littoral states Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan continue increasing their oil production.

Oil giant BP, which operates large-scale energy projects in the region, estimates that the proven oil reserves of the coastal nations amount to 265.2 billion barrels. 7 billion barrels of the volume, or 0.6 per cent of the world`s reserves, is concentrated in Azerbaijan.

Kazakhstan`s reserves amount to 39.8bn barrels, or 3.2 per cent. Russia accounts for 6.4 per cent of world reserves, with 79.4bn barrels. Iran holds 138.4bn barrels, or 11.2 per cent, while Turkmenistan - 0.6bn barrels.

Oil production in Azerbaijan made up 868,000 barrels per day in 2007, or 31.7 per cent over 2006, according to BP.

In Kazakhstan, output constituted 1.49 million bpd, or 3.9 per cent over 2006. Russia produced 9.97m bpd last year, or 2.2 per cent more than in 2006. Turkmenistan`s rate of production was 198,000 bpd, which exceeds the 2006 output by 6.5 per cent. In Iran, 4.4m bpd was extracted in 2007, or 0.4 per cent above the indicators registered the previous year.