Oil Chronicles
Oil Chronicles
January 2022
Starting January 6, in pursuance of the instruction of the President of the country, given on January 5 at a meeting with the Government on the stabilization of the socio-economic situation, for 180 days, the maximum prices for the retail sale of petroleum products (including VAT) have been set at the following level:
1) 80 RON gasoline – 89 tenge per liter;
2) 92 RON gasoline – 182 tenge per liter;
3) 93 RON gasoline – 182 tenge per liter;
4) 95 RON gasoline – 215 tenge per liter;
5) diesel fuel (summer, off-season):
in Akmola, Aktobe, East Kazakhstan, West Kazakhstan, Kostanay, and North Kazakhstan regions – 260 tenge per liter;
in the cities of Nur-Sultan, Almaty, Shymkent, and Almaty, Atyrau, Zhambyl, Karaganda, Kyzylorda, Pavlodar, Turkestan, South Kazakhstan regions – 230 tenge per liter.
January 14, the Board of Directors of National Company QazaqGaz JSC prematurely terminated the powers of Kairat Sharipbayev as chairman of the company's Management Board, according to the submitted application.
January 14, by the decision of the Board of Directors of KazTransOil JSC, Dimash Dossanov's powers as General Director (Chairman of the Management Board) of KazTransOil JSC were prematurely terminated. Dossanov is the husband of the youngest daughter of the first President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev – Aliya.
KazMunayGas informed the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) that Energy Minister Bolat Akchulakov, a member of the company's Board of Directors, was excluded from the Board of Directors on his initiative. Thus, the composition of the Board of Directors was reduced to six people. The company's Board of Directors includes Chairman Walton Christopher John and five board members: Uzakbay Karabalin, Holland Philip Malcolm, Miller Timothy Glen, Alik Aidarbayev, and Mukhtar Mankeyev.
January 17, Sabit Arynov was appointed Acting General Director (Chairman of the Management Board) of KazTransOil after the resignation of Dimash Dossanov.
Gazpromneft-Bitumen Materials announced the sale of the Kazakhstani asset Gazpromneft Bitumen Kazakhstan, which owns a plant in the South Kazakhstan region. The products of this enterprise are used in the construction, repair, and reconstruction of a third of the highways in Kazakhstan.
The sale of the bitumen plant in Shymkent took place as part of the implementation of the long-term development strategy of Gazpromneft - Bitumen Materials, the Gazprom Neft press service explained to Interfax. "The company has owned the production complex since 2013. During this time, thanks to the asset's modernization and development, the road bitumen production in Kazakhstan has more than doubled – from 120 thous. tons to 280 thous. tons per year. Gazpromneft-Kazakhstan continues to operate a network of gas stations in the country."
January 21, at a meeting with business representatives, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev instructed the Government to conduct an audit of all fields. "The Government will have to conduct an audit of all fields. If the deposit is taken for so-called "future use", it should be withdrawn and transferred to someone ready to work there," Tokayev said.
KazMunayGas reported that additional exploration discovered new oil deposits at the Uzen field in the Mangistau region. During 2017-2021, a high-resolution 3D seismic survey (368 sq. km) was carried out, the entire well stock (more than 7,500) was reinterpreted, the geological concept was revised, and the geological 3D model was rebuilt. Based on the results of the work, the structure of the field was detailed, and new oil deposits were discovered. As a result of the work carried out, the oil reserves of the Uzen field increased by 8%, which in quantitative terms amounts to 39.9 mln tons of recoverable reserves. The specified volumes of hydrocarbons at the end of 2021 were added to the balance sheet by the State Commission on Reserves of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
January 28, by a decision of the Board of Directors, the following were excluded from the Management Board of KazTransOil: Chingiz Seisekenov – Deputy General Director; Daniyar Muhamed-Rahim – Deputy General Director. Taking into account the changes made, the Board of KazTransOil consists of six people: Sabit Arynov, Yerbolat Mendybayev, Alyona Tanatarova, Zhaiyk Makhin, Shary Adilova, Zhaydarman Isakov.
February
February 10, due to the expiration of the employment contract, Zhakyp Marabayev left the position of Deputy Chairman of the Board of KazMunayGas for exploration and production, the company said in a statement. Over the years, he worked as General Director of the Kazakhstankaspiyshelf international consortium, KazMunaiGas EP JSC, and Deputy Managing Director of NCOC. Since 11.02.2019, he has held the position of Deputy Chairman of the Board of KMG.
The operator of the North Caspian Project, NCOC Company, announced the decision to review the salaries of employees of Kazakhstani contractors and subcontractors involved in the operational activities of NCOC.
It should be noted that the salaries of employees of contracting and subcontracting organizations are determined directly by the management of such organizations. NCOC proposed to the management of contractors to raise a monthly labor allowance by 60,000 tenge (minus all tax payments and mandatory deductions) for their employees, except for the management staff. This raise, including tax payments and mandatory deductions, will be reimbursed by the operator and will enter into force on February 1, 2022. At the moment, more than 7000 employees of Kazakhstani contracting and subcontracting organizations are working on the North Caspian Project.
February 12, KPO reported that following a meeting with the participation of the Akim of the West Kazakhstan region, Vice Minister of Energy, General Director of PSA LLP, and General Director of KPO, a proposal developed by a working group under the local administration to increase salaries for employees of contractors and subcontractors working at the Karachaganak field was approved.
KPO will send an appeal to the management of contracting and subcontracting organizations with a request to increase the basic amount of staff remuneration by 60,000 tenge per month, net of tax payments. The increased amount, including tax payments, will be reimbursed by KPO. If agreed, this single wage supplement will come into force on February 1, 2022.
This decision was made as voluntary support for efforts to improve the welfare of employees, preserve social stability and take care of Kazakhstanis under challenging times, the company said in a statement.
Currently, the Karachaganak project employs more than 13,000 employees from Kazakhstani contracting and subcontracting organizations.
Rosneft and the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) signed an agreement on the supply of 100 million tons of oil over ten years for refining at Chinese refineries. The message from Rosneft clarifies that it regards the supply of 100 million tons of oil to China in transit through Kazakhstan over ten years. "The raw materials will be processed at refineries in northwest China to meet the country's needs for petroleum products," the Russian company notes.
By the decision of the Board of Directors of the national company QazaqGaz, in coordination with the Board of Samruk-Kazyna, Sanzhar Zharkeshov was appointed acting Chairman of the Board of the national company.
He started his career in 2008 as a research engineer in Austin, Texas (USA). Over the years, he led the field supervisors of Merlin ERD in Perth (Scotland), was a global expert in the petroleum industry in the London office of McKinsey & Co on projects in Colombia, Oman, Russia, Alaska, the USA, and the UK, and also held the position of Vice Minister of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources of Kazakhstan. From 2020 to 2022, he worked as Deputy General Director of Naftogaz for Geology and Development (Ukraine).
February 18, the Board of Directors of Samruk-Kazyna JSC changed the composition of the Board of Directors of NC QazaqGaz. The powers of Adilbek Dzhaksybekov (Chairman of the Board of Directors), Kairat Sharipbayev, and Malik Saulebai were terminated prematurely. Ernat Berdigulov (Managing Director for Strategy and Asset Management of Samruk-Kazyna) and Nikolai Kazutin (Managing Director for Legal Support, Collateral, and Risks) were elected members of the Board of Directors, representatives of the interests of Samruk-Kazyna JSC. Ernat Berdigulov was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of QazaqGaz.
Starting February 23, by the decision of the Board of Directors of KazTransOil JSC, Talgat Kurmanbayev has been elected General Director (Chairman of the Management Board) of the company.
He was born in 1979 in Almaty. Before his appointment to KazTransOil, from 2020, he held the position of Deputy Director of the Oil Industry Development Department of the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Over time he worked in KazTransOil, KazMunayTeniz, KazMunayGas, Samruk-Kazyna, KazMunayGas-Aero.
Deputy Chairman of the Management Board have been appointed at KazMunayGas. Kurmangazy Iskaziev has been appointed Deputy Chairman of the Board for Exploration and Production. He will oversee the issues of oil and gas production at operating assets, improving their efficiency and further development, and expanding the resource base of KMG and rational field development. Iskaziev is a well–known oilman, laureate of the Al-Farabi State Prize in Science and Technology, Professor of the Department of Oil and Gas Prospecting and Exploration at the Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas, and Academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences.
Murat Munbayev has been appointed Deputy Chairman of the Management Board for major oil and gas projects. The perimeter of his duties includes the participation of KMG in major projects (Tengiz, Kashagan, Karachaganak). Murat Munbayev started his career in banking in 1999 and worked in international financial organizations. In 2007, he became TCO's Deputy Director General of the Strategic Planning Department. Since 2010, he has been the General Director of this department. Later he joined Chevron's Eurasian division. Then he moved to work at Shell, where he dealt with strategy and asset issues.
First Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar held a meeting on the audit of deposits of solid minerals and hydrocarbons.
The Government is systematically working on reviewing contracts and licenses issued to subsoil users. Thus, during the analysis carried out by the authorized bodies, 148 contracts for solid minerals and 27 contracts for hydrocarbon raw materials with low fulfillment of obligations were identified. Within the framework of the relevant Roadmap, it is planned to determine contracts and licenses for which appropriate termination notices will be sent. The fields will be auctioned to transfer to new investors, the Government's press service.
March
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has withdrawn Russian and Kazakhstani oil from trading due to sanctions and insurance risks, S&P Global Platts reported. According to the agency, IOC asked its suppliers to stop trading Russian and Kazakhstani oil to avoid risks amid anti-Russian sanctions. "This was reported to traders participating in spot trading. The main reason for this step is to avoid international sanctions and payment delays," a company representative told the agency.
In addition, according to the agency's sources, the country's largest oil refinery informed traders that such oil grades as Russian Urals, ESPO, and Kazakh CPC Blend would no longer be accepted on free-on-board terms.
The national company QazaqGaz has announced a new board of the company. Considering the changes, the Management Board consists of five people: Chairman of the Management Board Zharkeshov S.S.; members of the Management Board: Mukai Y.B., Ihsanov M.U., Akan A.M., Kassenov A.G.
Yerlan Mukai – First Deputy Chairman of the Management Board. He held the positions of financial director at Shell (The Hague, Netherlands) and Deputy Chairman of the Management Board for Economics and Finance of KazMunayGas.
Meyrbek Ihsanov – Deputy Chairman of the Management Board for Production and Marketing. Before his appointment, he worked as a regional director for marketing and sales of new technologies at Schlumberger in Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt, Russia, the Middle East, and Central Asia.