Abstract
The purpose of the study was to assess the impact of asset structure. It retained earnings on the strategic sustainability of oil and gas companies in Kazakhstan in the context of ESG integration. The analysis covers the period 2015–2024 and is based on the official financial statements of JSC KazMunayGas. The methodology included correlation analysis, regression modelling, ANOVA, and collinearity diagnostics. The results demonstrate that long-term assets and property, plant, and equipment (PPE) explain 97.6% of the variation in total assets (R² = 0.976, p <0.05), while retained earnings account for 71.4% of the variation in total equity (R² = 0.714, p = 0.002). Conversely, current assets and cash equivalents show no significant effect on retained earnings (R² = 0.076, p> 0.5). All three hypotheses were confirmed: long-term assets and PPE significantly explained total assets, and retained earnings significantly explained equity. The obtained results demonstrated that long-term capital-intensive investments and reinvestment of profits constitute the main drivers of ESG-oriented sustainability. In contrast, short-term liquidity plays only a supporting role. Based on these findings, government policy should strengthen the integration of ESG indicators into mandatory reporting standards and provide incentives for reinvestment of retained earnings in sustainable projects. For corporate practice, prioritizing long-term investments and transparent ESG disclosure is recommended to align Kazakhstan’s oil and gas sector with both national sustainable development priorities and international ESG standards.