KPO Sustainability Report 2021
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Community engagement

The targets in table 25 are aimed at support of the local communities living in three rural districts of Burlin district – Priuralnyi, Zharsuat and Uspenovskiy villages located adjacent to the Karachaganak Field and Aksai town.

In order to maintain effective dialogue with local communities on social and infrastructural support, KPO conducts meetings and consultations in the form of Village Council meetings with participation of Company employees and representatives from rural districts.

In 2021, nine Village Councils meetings were held in the Priuralnyi, Zharsuat and Uspenovskiy rural districts, three of which were arranged online due to the COVID-19 restrictions. During the meetings, the local residents were informed of the KPO Community Development Programmes for 2021, KPO Environmental Monitoring Programme, as well as on the progress of seven second-year students from these rural districts who study in colleges and universities of Uralsk under the KPO Scholarship Programme. Overall, 18 local residents received education over the period of the Scholarship programme from 2010 to 2021.

As part of the Community Development Programme, KPO provided 65 vouchers for the elderly of Burlin district for health recreation in the Akzhaiyk Sanatorium. Given the strict sanitarian and epidemiological requirements during the Coronavirus pandemic, the vouchers were provided for vaccinated pensioners only.

Tab. 25. Targets in community engagement

2021 targets

Target achievement

Actions taken in 2021

Targets for 2022

Implement Community Development Programme as per approved budget

Completed

Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, the summer camp for community children was cancelled; the Akzhaiyk sanatorium recreation for the elderly community members was partially implemented. The Scholarship Programme for rural school graduates successfully continued.

Implement the 2022 Community Development Programme as per approved budget

 

Conduct 9 Village Council meetings in three rural districts on social and environmental issues

Completed

In 2021, 9 Village Council meetings on social and environmental development aspects raised by the local residents were held in three rural districts (Priuralnyi, Zharsuat and Uspenovskiy). Along with this, additional meetings outside of Village Councils were held to answer the residents’ questions.

Conduct 9 Village Council meetings on social and environmental topics involving three rural district communities: Priuralnyi, Zharsuat, Uspenovskiy

Review and timely close all incoming grievances and applications

Completed

All received grievances were reviewed and effectively closed out

Review and timely close all incoming grievances and suggestions from the communities

Why is it important to us?

Trust, mutual understanding, cooperation and respect for the rights of the local communities are the major factors of Company’s success.

Building up good neighborhood and constructive dialogue with local communities is embedded in the KPO Sustainable Development Charter and is essential because this help us maintain our ‘social license to operate’.

In its operations, KPO works to prevent or minimize negative impacts and maximize the benefits from its presence by continuous engagement with local communities, and creating conditions for their well-being and economic growth.

Aiming to implement initiatives in the area of corporate social responsibility, KPO applies policies, standards and procedures based on the Performance Standards of International Finance Corporation.

Community feedback mechanism

In accordance with KPO Community Grievance Procedure, we received 10 complaints and requests from the local community, including three gas odor complaints and seven requests and suggestions of various nature from the local communities living in close proximity to the Karachaganak field. As part of closing out these requests, the Company helped communities by providing equipment for cleaning the rural roads off snow in winter period.

Check-ups carried out by the KPO Operations Environment Monitoring Team did not reveal any malfunctioning of the process equipment, leaks/emissions or MPC exceedances in each case reported. Upon completing the review, some feedback was communicated to the residents who had filed the complaints.

Monitoring of resettled communities

Since resettlement of the first residents from Berezovka and Bestau villages to Araltal micro district and apartment buildings in Aksai at the end of 2017, KPO has been annually monitoring the livelihood restoration of the resettled families. As part of our surveys during our meetings with Araltal residents, the community members complained about a lack of a rainwater drainage system around the constructed 100 houses and local school.

The residents’ concerns were brought up by KPO to the attention of the authorities of the Burlin district and West Qazaqstan Oblast. As a result of joint efforts made by KPO and local executive and state bodies, a new Decree of the Government of the Republic of Qazaqstan (No. 203 dated 04.01.2021) was adopted on allocation of additional funds for implementation of post-resettlement projects, including Drainage System Project in Araltal, and Demolition and Land Reclamation Project of the former Berezovka and Bestau villages.

In late 2021, KPO completed the Drainage System Project around 100 houses and a school in Araltal. During the entire construction period, which took six months, KPO Community Relations Team engaged with Araltal residents on the project, informing the residents about the project, its design, construction progress and providing prompt responses to written and verbal requests and complaints with involvement of a contractor construction company to resolve the issues. Thanks to KPO’s continuous communication with the residents during construction period, all their comments and requests were considered by the contractor. In total, KPO Community Relations team held 97 meetings with the Araltal residents to discuss and resolve issues related to the project during construction.

Productive cooperation of KPO with residents and local authorities of Burlin district has contributed to community issues being timely resolved and 94 complaints closed out, minimizing the risks of non-completing the work on schedule, and helping maintain trustful relationship with residents.

Overall, KPO’s cooperation with local communities of Burlin District during implementation of various projects helps minimize the potential social and environmental risks associated with the Company’s activities at the Karachaganak Field.

We will share the information on demolition and reclamation of former lands of Berezovka and Bestau villages in our next Sustainability Report.

PUBLIC HEARINGS

Information about public hearings is communicated to the public through publications in regional and district newspapers, as well as through the Company’s website. In view of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and 2021, public hearings have been held as a survey. KPO and local executive bodies have agreed to receive feedback from the population by submitting questionnaires, the forms of which are enclosed to the package of documents posted on the KPO website.

During 2021, with the support of the Burlin District authorities, KPO held four public hearings in the form of a survey on the four construction projects of various facilities, which included construction of field and technology pipelines, wells and land reclamation.

All the projects discussed at the public hearings in 2021 were approved by the audience and recorded in the relevant meeting minutes, which are available on the website of Burlin District authorities and KPO website at ‘Sustainability/Social responsibility/Community engagement/Public hearings’.

CASE STUDY 1:

ENVIRONMENTAL CLASSES FOR SCHOOLCHILDREN

Context / short description of issue:

To strengthen good-neighbor relations with local communities, KPO informs them of its activities in the area of environmental protection. In 2021, our target was to involve in the communication process some secondary school students from rural districts adjacent to the Karachaganak Field.

In November 2021, KPO employees carried out a number of extra-curricular classes on environmental topics for schoolchildren from the villages of Uspenovka, Zhanatalap, Priuralnoe and Zharsuat.

Solution / action:

The topics were selected with the aim of raising awareness of the youth about care to natural resources, “green thinking” concept, conscious consumption and eco-friendly behavior.

The classes were held in the form of a game with discussion of the issues related to global climate change, depletion of natural resources, and reduction of the environmental footprint made by people on Earth. The concept of waste avoidance implies for conscious consumption, refusal to use disposable plastic items. As an example of refusal from single-use plastic bags, all participants were given with fabric bags to carry their school shoes.

Result:

Development of environmental consciousness and behavior are to be embedded into mindsets of people at early age. Through such initiatives of introducing the new environmental value system for the youth, KPO contributes to social progress.

CASE STUDY 2:

SUPPORT TO LOCAL SPECIALISTS’ TRAINING

Context / short description of issue:

For several years, the local authorities of Burlin district have been raising the issue of the lack of qualified specialists in rural schools and hospitals. Considering this problem and in accordance with the national programme ‘With Diploma to the Village’, starting from 2010 KPO has been implementing a Scholarship Programme for school graduates from three rural districts adjacent to the Karachaganak Field – Uspenovskiy, Zharsuat and Priuralnyi.

The Programme is aimed at providing financial support to school graduates from socially vulnerable families living in rural areas in obtaining secondary specialized and higher education in the West Qazaqstani educational institutions, thus supporting the Burlin district getting qualified personnel in the field of education and healthcare.

Solution / action:

The Scholarship Programme was approved and supported by local authorities and Burlin Department of Education. It is implemented under the terms of a 4 – partite Agreement between a student, the Department of Education, the educational institution and KPO.

One of the participants of this programme was Aidanas Iskaliyeva from Uspenovka village. Aidanas was enrolled into the programme in 2013. After completing ninth grade, Aidanas entered the Faculty of preschool education and training at the Uralsk Humanitarian and Technical College.

Under the terms of the Scholarship Programme, KPO pays tuition and monthly scholarship fees that covers food, travel and accommodation expenses of students.

Having successfully graduated from college in 2017, that same year Aidanas got a job as an elementary school teacher in her village school in Uspenovka, where she has worked until 2019. Currently, Aidanas works as a teacher and a methodologist in the Uspenovskiy kindergarten. She comments on her participation in the Scholarship Programme as follows: “I love children since my childhood and have dreamed of becoming an elementary school teacher. KPO gave me a unique opportunity to study and learn a profession I fancy. Working as a preschool teacher inspires me as it allows me to contribute to shaping the children’s perspective and to preparing them for such an important stage as schooling. I am happy that I started my career in my school and I plan to continue living and working for the benefit of my village’.

Result:

In 2021, Aidanas took a second place in the West Qazaqstan regional competition for preschool teachers.

Currently there is an outflow of rural youth to the cities in search of jobs, the youth are looking for earnings in oil and gas industry. KPO Scholarship Programme provides opportunities for the young community members to get education and return to their village, where educated specialists are so highly demanded.