The Borat Trade: Four Kazakhstan Plays Are Very Nice

For a more speculative play, try Transmeridian Exploration(TMY Quote), an oil company whose principal asset is the South Alibek Field in Kazakhstan. This oil field has estimated proven reserves of 72.9 million barrels of oil equivalent and 108.2 million barrels of probable resources.

Just last April, management retained a financial adviser to wade through strategic alternatives such as a sale of its interest in the Kazakh oil field or a sale of the entire Houston-based company.

Analysts anticipate that if a deal to sell the company were to take place, this $117 million market cap company could sell for as much as $600 million. The possibilities and low valuation of this company even landed it a spot on Jim Cramer's "Mad Money" speculative-stock index last year.

A third U.S. company to benefit from Kazakhstan's increasing oil production is Houston-based Parker Drilling(PKD Quote). This small international driller currently operates in 13 different countries, and some of its primary operating grounds are in Libya, Mexico and Kazakhstan.

Just last April it received new contracts commissioning an additional two rigs to its current Kazakhstan jobs, and the contracts on its existing two rigs have been extended by three years.