Pollutant emissions, kilotons - 2016–2019
| Year | Emissions, kilotons |
| 2016 | 65,8 |
| 2017 | 62,6 |
| 2018 | 65,5 |
| 2019 | 64,5 |
Oil and gas production, the chemical, energy, manufacturing, and mining industries and motor vehicle emissions are the principal sources of air pollution in the region.
Primary pollutant emissions by volume, kilotons - 2018–2019
| Substance | 2018 | 2019 |
| Sulfur dioxide | 1,3 | 1 |
| Nitrogen oxides | 10,3 | 11 |
| Suspended solid particulates | 3,1 | 3,2 |
| Carbon monoxide | 9,5 | 10,5 |
| Hydrocarbons | 10,9 | 9,8 |
| Volatile organic compounds | 21,5 | 28,3 |
Oblast air quality recordings were made at stationary posts in the cities of Aktau, Zhanaozen and Beineu, expeditionary observations were also carried out at the Koshkar-Ata tailings dump, the Dunga and Zhetybai fields and in the rural settlement of Bautino.
Oblast residential air pollution levels – 2017-2019
Hazardous substance concentrations in the oblast did not exceed established norms; there were no cases of elevated or extremely elevated levels recorded in the oblast.
| City | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
| Aktau | Elevated | High | Elevated |
| Zhanaozen | Low | Elevated | Low |
| Beineu | Low | High | Low |
Monitoring of water pollution levels for the Middle Caspian Sea
region were carried out at the coastal observation stations at
Fort-Shevchenko, Fetisovo, and Kalamkas; at the reservoir of
the dam at MMG, JSC; near the village of Kuryk; at the Middle
and South Caspian Sea border (Adamtas lighthouse); at the
Aktau Seaport SEZ; near the city of Aktau; at the Karazhanbas,
Arman, and Kara Bogaz deposits.
According to sole applicable classification for water quality, Caspian Sea water within the oblast does not meet established norms and is assigned to the >5 class (Non-standardized. Exceeds all class 5 guidelines. Lowest rated.)
As of 2019, more than 170,000 cars are registered in the oblast, 93,000 run on gasoline- liquid natural gas mix or liquid natural gas. 290 liquid natural gas filling stations operate in the oblast.
To address air quality in the oblast the akimat oversees the implementation and enforcement of environmental measures and the creation of greenspace. In addition, liquid natural gas-powered vehicle use is increasing in the oblast and municipal and private heating plants (boilers) in the oblast are transitioning to natural gas.
The oblast gas pipeline network extends for nearly 4,500 thousands; commercial gas consumption in 2019 amounted to more than 2.5 billion m3.
100% of the towns of Aktau, Zhanaozen, and Fort Shevchenko have natural gas access; more than 98% of rural settlements have natural gas coverage. Overall, 99.8% of the regional population has access to natural gas.
The region contains 33 identified groundwater deposits suitable for a range of use. In 2019, oblast residents received drinking water from three sources. Desalinated seawater: MAEK-Kazatomprom, LLP — 41.7%; Caspian Desalination Plant, LLP — 10.1%. Underground aquifers — 10,2 % Volga River — 10,1 % 57% of the population of, . the region consume desalinated seawater. Water consumption in the city of Aktau and its environs increases annually by an average of 4-6%.
Domestic wastewater discharge - 2018–2019
| 2018 | 2019 | |
| Volume – wastewater discharge – 1000 m.3 | 1 260 | 720 |
| Volume – pollutant discharge - kt | 0,65 | 0,28 |
There are 26 oblast companies
engaged in the exploration and
production of oil and gas.
Located in the Oblast:
• 72 oil fields with reserves of 535
million tons;
• 44 gas fields;
• 25 condensate deposits with
reserves of 8.3 million tons;
• two deposits of phosphorites with
reserves of 3.7 million tons;
• one manganese deposit with
reserves of 37 million tons.
Discharge of pollutants by enterprises - 2018-2019
| 2018 | 2019 | |
| Volume – wastewater discharge – 1000 m.3 | 1 238 184 | 1 394 589 |
| Volume – pollutant discharge - kt | 2,7 | 2,5 |
The region contains 33 identified groundwater deposits suitable for a range of use.
The total oblast land area amounts to 16.6 million hectares.
Distribution of land by category - thousands of hectares - 2018–2019
| Category | 2018 | 2019 |
| Agricultural land | 5 228 | 5 199 |
| Residential land | 1 098 | 1 086 |
| Ind Land zoned for industrial, transport, communications, defense, and other non-agricultural purposes | 245,4 | 251,9 |
| Protected nature preserves | 223,4 | 223,4 |
| Forestland | 253,2 | 254,2 |
| Surface water lands | 14,3 | 11,8 |
| Undesignated Reserve Land | 9 502 | 9 539 |
The oblast is rich in minerals like coal, phosphorite, boron, building stone,
brick clays, clay for brick and concrete.
In 2019, 112.
In 2019, 234 contracts for the development of common minerals deposits
and nine licenses for their extraction were registered in the region.
The most common substance mined in the region by volume is shelly
limestone. In 2018, 108 shelly limestone mining contracts were issued.
Every year in spring and autumn, Kazhydromet takes readings from the Caspian Sea basin sediment and soils measuring the presence of petroleum products and metals. Readings from 2019 show no exceedances of established permissible concentrations.
There are five protected national
natural reserves in the oblast:
• Aktau-Buzachi Nature Reserve —
170,000 hectares;
• Karakiya-Karakol Nature Park —
137,500 hectares;
• Kanderli-Kaysan National Park —
1,230,300 hectares;
• Ustyurt Reserve — 223,300
hectares;
• Mangyshlak Experimental Botanical
Garden – 39 hectares.
In addition, there are seven oblast
nature reserves of an area larger
than 1M hectares.
In an effort to develop eco- friendly tourist at Kyzylsai Nature Park trail 'passports' were developed to aid park visitors.
In 2019, 557 raids and inspections were conducted in enforcement of biodiversity protections.
The region is home to more than 50 species of mammals and 270 species of birds.
Numbers of rare and endangered animal species in the region.
| Year | Saiga | Argali | Gazelle |
| 2016 | 1 900 | 1 500 | 1 000 |
| 2017 | 2 700 | 1 509 | 1 000 |
| 2018 | 3 700 | 1 523 | 1 000 |
| 2019 | 5 900 | 2 100 | 800 |
There are 18 parks covering 45 hectares in the urban and rural centers in the oblast.
Greenspace Creation - 2013–2019
| Year | Trees (total) | Shrubs (total) | Flower beds (total) |
| 2013 | 22 936 | 4 802 | 255 118 |
| 2014 | 19 182 | 5 920 | 305 579 |
| 2015 | 22 079 | 11 255 | 277 155 |
| 2016 | 48 670 | 7 223 | 27 147 |
| 2017 | 27 517 | 115 830 | 2 250 |
| 2018 | 38 596 | 3 210 | 2 286 |
| 2019 | 31 613 | 4 340 | 1 965 |
The coastal Caspian Sea zone is
home to six area fisheries including
two established sturgeon hatcheries;
commercial sturgeon enterprises
operating in the oblast include:
• Kazakh Ossetr Research and
Production, LLP
• Kazakh Ostyor, LLP
In 2019, 30 tons of sturgeon were
produced, nine tons sold including
1.5 tons for export.
Oblast nature reserves and forestlands are largely covered by saxaul. The largest forestland segment at about 255,000 hectares, is the Samsk State Forest in the Beineu district. Around 300 hectares of that territory are seeded with saxaul annually.
Monitoring of radioactive gamma contamination of the surface layer of the atmosphere in the oblast was carried out daily at four meteorological stations in the cities of Aktau, Zhanaozen, Beineu, Fort-Shevchenko, and at the Koshkar-Ata tailings dump and two at automated air pollution monitoring stations located in the city of Zhanaozen.
The principal source of radioactive contamination in the region is the Koshkar- Ata tailings dump.
There are eight landfills in the region that meet all environmental health and safety standards and 16 landfills which are non-compliant.
Oblast solid household waste generation and processing – kilotons - 2018-2019
| Year | Volume of generated waste, kilotons | Percentage of generated waste sorted & recycled |
| 2018 | 182,3 | 1,42 |
| 2019 | 188,3 | 33,8 |
In 2019, satellite imagery of the oblast identified 194 unauthorized waste dumps, 65 of which were cleaned up and eliminated.
In 2018, nearly 279,000 tons of industrial waste were generated in the region, 69.8% of which was recycled and reused.
Six organizations are engaged in the business of sorted waste collection in the region; in 2018, one waste sorting station and conveyer began operating in the oblast.
In Aktau, 27 containers for the collection of mercury bulbs were installed; in 2018, 65,853 mercury bulbs were disposed of.
In 2019, two wind farms - one with a capacity of 5 MW, the second with a capacity of 43.6 MW – went on line.
On the territory of the Koshkar-Ata tailings dump, located eight kilometers from the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea and four to five kilometers from the northern neighborhoods of the city of Aktau, are facilities for the storage of 105 million tons of waste, including around 52 million tons of radioactive waste. A court order has re-assigned responsibility for the radioactive and toxic waste in the tailings dump, placing it under State control. A green “buffer zone” has been established encircling the tailings pond and the water level of the artificial lake on the territory is maintained at a consistent level to reduce dust. Full reclamation of the territory is being planned.
In May 2018, a solar power plant with a capacity of 2 MW was launched in the village of Batyr, in the Munali district, the first in the district. Construction on a solar power plant with a capacity of 12 MW in the village of Shetpe, Mangystau district is ongoing.
At 17 and 20 kilometers distance from the city of Aktau sit abandoned uranium mine quarries with exposed uranium ore and eventual exposure of further sources of radioactive contamination. Ore mining sites have been covered with clay, sand, and soil strata. In 2015, the territory and its waste was transferred to State ownership. A trench was dug around the quarries to secure the area and prevent the exposure of local residents; warning signs were installed. Waste disposal is planned.
At the OzenMunaiGas, JSC production site, petroleum saturated ground has accumulated in the long-term in 11 storage tanks and with a volume of more than 1.2 million cubic meters. In 2015, the waste was transferred to state ownership; 200,000 tons were processed in 2019.
The development of the oil and gas industries exert an overall negative effect on water quality in the Caspian Sea, where regular monitoring reveals pollution levels increasing annually. To alleviate this situation, the Environmental Ministers from the five littoral Caspian Sea nations have signed the Protocol on Regional Preparedness, Response and Cooperation in the Event of Oil Pollution Incidents. In addition, in 2018 the Caspian Institute was established at the Astana International Scientific Complex.
In November 2016, the tanker vessel ARAKS carrying petroleum saturated ground, shale water and refined petroleum products ran aground in the area of Cape Peschany. A preventative State- financed project to control environmental damage was undertaken in 2017. In 2019, the vessel was dismantled and scrapped and the affected coast and sea were cleaned.
In November 2015, the TIBA, an Iranian registered vessel, ran aground in the Caspian Sea at a location 30 kilometers from Kurgan. In 2019, during cleaning and scrapping of the vessel, it was acquired by S.D. Beisatov, a private businessman.
At the KazAzot LLP site, ownerless pyrite and sulfur waste of a volume greater than 100,000 tons was revealed. In 2016, the waste was transferred to State ownership; in 2019 the State conducted an environmental impact study of the site.
The m assive water use by the city of Zhanaozen and at the Kalamkas oil field, the inefficient use of sand massifs as pastureland and shrubs as heating fuel in the region have resulted in the degradation of the sandy massifs of the Tuyesu in the Karakiya district and Bostankum and Kyzylkum in the Mangystau district. Over 200 km2 of sand massifs have been denuded, with dunes measured at a height of 50-80 meters developing and settlements inundated by shifting sands. To address the issue work is underway to restore the vegetation of the degraded sand massifs.
В области находятся 75 % казахстанской части Каспийского моря и искусственно созданное озеро Караколь. Озеро Караколь возникло около 45 лет назад на месте одноимённого сора, озеро является прудом-охладителем, в него сливается разогретая чистая морская вода, использовавшаяся для охлаждения энергетического оборудования тепловых станций ТОО «Мангистауский атомно-энергетический комбинат — Казатомпром». Остуженная вода далее поступает через сбросной канал обратно в Каспийское море.