Atyrau Oblast is a province

Provinces of Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is divided into 14 provinces . The provinces are further subdivided into districts .Notes:* Almaty and Astana cities have the status of State importance and do not relate to any province....

 of Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...

. It is situated in the west of the country around the northeast of the Caspian Sea

Caspian Sea

The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...

. Its capital is the city of Atyrau

Atyrau

Atyrau , known as Guryev until 1991, is a city in Kazakhstan, and the capital of Atyrau Province. It is located at the mouth of the Ural River, 2700 kilometers west of Almaty and 350 kilometers east of the Russian city of Astrakhan. Other transliterations include Aterau, Atirau, Atyraw, Atyraou,...

, with a population of 142,500 people; the province itself has 480,000 people. Kazakhs

Kazakhs

The Kazakhs are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia ....

 make up more than 80% of population.

Geography

With an area of 118,600 square kilometers, it is the second-smallest province in Kazakhstan (South Kazakhstan Province

South Kazakhstan Province

South Kazakhstan Province is the southernmost province of Kazakhstan, with a population of 2,282,500 people. Its capital is Shymkent, with 539,600 people. Other cities in South Kazakhstan include Turkestan, Sayram, Kentau, Arys, Shardara, Jetysu, Saryag'ash and Lenger...

 is the smallest). It borders the neighboring country Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 to the west, as well as the fellow Kazakh provinces Aktobe Province

Aktobe

Aktobe , formerly known as Aktyubinsk , is a city on the Ilek River in Kazakhstan. With a population of 277,700, it is the capital of Aktobe Province. Aktobe has a mixed ethnic community, including Kazakhs, Russians, Ukrainians, Tatars, Uyghurs, Chechens, Armenians, Jews and Greeks...

(to the east), Mangystau(to the south), and the West Kazakhstan Province

West Kazakhstan Province

West Kazakhstan Province is a province of Kazakhstan. Its capital is Oral , a city of about 200,000 inhabitants.-Geography:...

(to the north).

A large part of the province is situated in the oil

Petroleum

Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...

-rich Caspian Depression

Caspian Depression

Caspian Depression or Pricaspian/Peri-Caspian Depression/Lowland is a low-lying flatland region encompassing the northern part of the Caspian Sea, the largest enclosed body of water on Earth. It is the larger northern part of the wider Aral-Caspian Depression around the Aral and Caspian seas.The...

; because of this, many oil wells have been drilled in the Tengiz Field

Tengiz Field

Tengiz field is an oil and gas field located in northwestern Kazakhstan's low-lying wetlands along the northeast shores of the Caspian Sea...

 and Kashagan Field

Kashagan Field

Kashagan Field is an offshore oil field located in Kazakhstan. The field is situated in the northern part of the Caspian Sea close to the Kazakhstan city of Atyrau. The field was discovered in 2000 and was one of the larger discoveries in that decade, it is estimated that the Kashagan Field has...

 areas. An pipeline runs from Atyrau to Samara

Samara, Russia

Samara , is the sixth largest city in Russia. It is situated in the southeastern part of European Russia at the confluence of the Volga and Samara Rivers. Samara is the administrative center of Samara Oblast. Population: . The metropolitan area of Samara-Tolyatti-Syzran within Samara Oblast...

, where it joins the Russian pipeline system. A separate oil pipeline runs from the Tengiz field

Tengiz Field

Tengiz field is an oil and gas field located in northwestern Kazakhstan's low-lying wetlands along the northeast shores of the Caspian Sea...

 to the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiisk.

Atyrau is traversed by the northeasterly line of equal latitude and longitude.