During a working visit to the West Kazakhstan Oblast, Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Serik Akhmetov visited the Karachaganak oil and gas field, and examined the production operations of Karachaganak Petroleum Operating BV (KPO).

KPO General Director, Damiano Ratti showed the prime minister the production process, systems for the processing and transport of hydrocarbons and reported on the project’s future prospects.

The president was accompanied by Akim of the West Kazakhstan Oblast (WKO) Nogaev, Minister of Oil and Gas Mynbaev, Minister of Transport and Communications Zhumagaliyev, Finance Minister Zhamishev, Chairman of KazMunaiGas Lyazzat Kiinov, and the heads of other ministries and departments.

"The success of the Karachaganak project has been possible due to the partnership and fruitful cooperation established between the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the WKO Akimat, the local community and partner companies in the project," General Director of KPO, Damiano Ratti pointed out.

Damiano Ratti said that to date, the KPO partners have invested more than US $17 billion into the development of Karachaganak. Total direct payments to the national budget reached US $8.8 billion.

"The most advanced production technology is used during the field development to ensure maximum economic return for the Republic of Kazakhstan and the project partners," Damiano Ratti said.

Ratti stressed that over the past few years, KPO has formed long-term partnerships with a number of Kazakh companies. "The use of Kazakh goods and services is a priority and has a positive impact on the development of the regional and national economies," Damiano Ratti said.

As is well known, KPO was one of the first companies in the country to successfully introduce a local content development programme. It made it possible to bring more than three thousand Kazakh enterprises into the development of Karachaganak. The companies overall have received orders for more than US $4 billion from KPO.

Through this partnership over the years, the WKO has erected a large number of new schools, kindergartens, hospitals, social amenities and other facilities, along with hundreds of kilometres of roads. KPO’s total investments into WKO social infrastructure have exceeded US $240 million.

As the largest employer in the region, KPO also meets its obligations to protect the health of its employees and create long-term jobs with highly competitive remuneration.

As was noted previously, Kazakh employees now occupy 69% of all the management positions at KPO, and 95% of the lower-level management and skilled jobs.

As a result of ongoing efforts to replace foreign workers with Kazakh specialists, today local employees represent 93% of the total staff.

During their meeting, the prime minister received a report on the progress with the talks on the next stage of the Karachaganak field development. Relevant ministries had received instructions to clarify existing options for project expansion and the need to further increase the number of Kazakh professionals in the company’s management.

After reviewing KPO’s operational results, the prime minister toured a key manufacturing facility – the Karachaganak Processing Complex (KPC). Following their visit, the delegation expressed satisfaction with KPO’s achievements in the field development and wished the company success.

Karachaganak Petroleum Operating BV (KPO) is a joint venture of the BG Group (29.25%), Eni (29.25%), Chevron (18%), LUKoil (13.5%) and KazMunaiGas NC JSC (10%).

KPO manages the expansion and development of the Karachaganak field, one of the largest oil fields in the world. The Karachaganak field is located in northwest Kazakhstan, taking up an area of ​​over 280 square kilometres.

Initial reserves of oil, gas and condensate (HIIP) are 9 billion barrels of condensate and 48 trillion cubic feet of gas, with estimated reserves of over 2.4 billion barrels of condensate and 16 trillion cubic feet of gas.

Since the signing of the FPSA, the KPO parent companies have invested more than US $17 billion into the development of the Karachaganak field, using the most advanced production technologies to produce maximum sustainable economic benefits.

Compared to similar companies, KPO is top ranked in terms of gas utilisation. Gas utilisation in 2012 was 99.87 percent, which is a world-class achievement.