AKIPRESS.COM - Some OPEC members have approached Kazakhstan regarding coordinated action aimed at propping up oil prices, Energy Minister Vladimir Shkolnik said on Wednesday, but suggested the central Asian nation had already played its part.

The second-largest oil producer among ex-Soviet countries after Russia, Kazakhstan pumps an average of 1.6 million barrels of oil per day (bpd), a seventh of Russia's output of around 10.7 million bpd, reports Reuters.

OPEC, of which neither Russia nor Kazakhstan are members, decided to keep production quotas unchanged last year in a move to defend market share from rivals, including shale oil producers in the United States.

"Of course, some OPEC members have approached us in a move to coordinate our approaches to stimulate oil price growth," Shkolnik told a briefing.

"First and the easiest one is just to cut output... A coordinated position is needed but Kazakhstan has already cut its oil production by 1 million tonnes... We have contributed."

Kazakhstan generates more than half of its budget revenue from the oil sector.

It has already cut its oil production target for this year by 1 million tonnes to 79.5 million tonnes. If met, that would be less than the 80.8 million tonnes it produced in 2014.

Russia has also rejected calls to cut production and has increased drilling over recent months instead, as the weak rouble was helping to offset losses from low oil prices.

Yet, Russian oil firms have warned that their production, the world's highest, may go down if taxes on the industry are increased as recently proposed by the Finance Ministry.

Kazakhstan is considering cutting the mineral extraction tax for some fields to free up investment and maintain production, a senior energy official said on Tuesday.