Kazakhstan's public defiance of the OPEC+ oil production alliance could signal its exit from the group and push Saudi Arabia into a painful price war at a precarious moment.

Kazakhstan is fulfilling its OPEC+ obligations and has an ongoing dialogue with the group to find “mutually acceptable solutions” to its oil production management, said Energy Minister Erlan Akkenzhenov.

Kazakhstan has sparked fresh tensions within OPEC+ by asserting that its oil production strategy will be governed by national interests rather than group quotas