Borat may have turned Kazakhstan into a cinematic joke but the energy wealth of the giant Central Asian republic means that political events are taken very seriously in the wider world.

The sudden resignation of Prime Minister Danial Akhmetov, prompting the departure of the entire Cabinet under Kazakhstan's constitution, appears to be the culmination of months of rumbling dissatisfaction over economic policy in the world's ninth largest country.

Mr Akhmetov changed the law to give priority to state companies over foreign investors, a move that prompted criticism from international oil giants whose expertise is required to develop Kazakhstan's huge reserves. The Kashagan oil field, for example, is nine times larger than the Brent field in the North Sea and will require $20 billion of investment to develop.

The law stated that the Kazakh state oil company should own half of all future investments, while foreign partners would bear the risk of paying for exploration costs.

Mr Akhmetov, 52, may have been responsible for the reform but it could not have happened without the approval of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has maintained an iron grip on Kazakhstan's political culture since independence in 1991.

Mr Nazarbayev criticised the Prime Minister for poor strategic planning and overspending last year. He also installed his former chief aide Karim Masimov, a key presidential adviser, as deputy Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister's removal and the likely elevation of Mr Masimov, who had responsibility for economic strategy, may be Mr Nazarbayev's way of signalling a change of direction to the foreign community. Mr Masimov, 41, ran a private bank before joining the government.

Britain is the third-largest external investor in Kazakhstan, accounting for 14 per cent of foreign direct investment, principally in the oil and gas industries. British Aerospace owns 49 per cent of Air Astana, the national carrier and more than 100 UK companies operate in Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan produces around 1 million barrels of oil a day, which it sells mainly to the West. It has ambitions to triple output by 2015, propelling it into the world's top 10 producers.

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