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Archive special issue
#4 (100), September 2016
KIOGE Kazakhstan 2016Politics
Terrorism and Change of Power – Political Trends of the Year
The first half of 2016 was rich in various political events that indicate some interesting trends, both in social life, and within the political elite.
Exclusive
The Oil Chronicles
October 2015
Kazakhstan is currently not considering buying shares of BG Group plc in the Karachaganak project and thereby increasing its share in the project, the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan told Trend. "To date, no requests from the project participants on the issue of alienation of their participation in both the Karachaganak and other major projects have been reported to the Ministry," the Office said. Early April 2015 Royal Dutch Shell reported reaching an agreement on buying the BG Group for $70 billion. The parties expect the closing of the deal to take place at the beginning of 2016.
Technology
From 3-D to 4-D and Beyond with Full Wavefield Imaging
The advanced software that takes seismic imaging to the next dimension.
ExxonMobil invented 3-D seismic in the 1960s - the company was later awarded the Distiguished Achievement Avard by the Society of Exploration Geophysicists for what ir said was "the most important geophysical innovation in the past 30 years". Until now, 3-D imaging was the most accurate method for locating fossil fuel deposits. The challenge with 3-D seismic was that it was difficult to process all the information with traditional computer algorithms.
KIOGE-2016
Modernization as a Driver of Kazakhstan’s Oil Refining Industry
Open competition has already established in Kazakhstan – the country joined the WTO; the Customs Union and the Eurasian Economic Community came into full force. Under these conditions, when the borders and the market are open, potential of an enterprise shall be determined by its competitiveness - whether it will remain at the regional scale or it will take a worthy place among the leading international companies. Modernization of Kazakh oil refineries shall be a response to the actual challenges, a driver for growing competitiveness of the industry.
Kazakhstan «downstream» in Europe
“KazMunayGas”, acquiring refineries in Europe few years ago, has set a difficult task: to develop advanced refining, to produce high-added value products, to bring Kazakh oil in the form of the finished product to the "fuel nozzles" at the gas stations. It was also important to show that Kazakhstan is capable of not only the extraction of crude oil, but also of the production of high quality petroleum products for Europe.
Projects
TCO Launches the Largest Investment Project
On July 5, on the eve of the birthday of President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev and the day of Astana, the shareholders of the joint venture Tengizchevroil in a meeting with Minister of Energy Kanat Bozumbaev announced a final investment decision for the Future Growth Project and Wellhead Pressure Management Project (FGP-WPMP), which will be the next stage of expansion of the Tengiz oil field in western Kazakhstan. The project is supposed to involve $37 billion and is the world’s biggest investment project in petroleum production this year.
Whether Kazakhstan Need the Fourth Refinery?
Currently the Kazakhstan market of all light oil products is scarce-volumes of production of gasoline, diesel oil and aviation kerosene by local Oil Refineries is not enough to cover the domestic market's demand for these types of fuels. Basically, this deficit is covered by the import of oil products from Russia. So, on average for the period from 2011 to 2015 about 30% of demand for gasoline and jet fuel and 10% demand for diesel fuel covered at the expense of imports from the Refineries of the northern neighbor.
SPE Conference Series Returns to Kazakhstan Against a Challenging Backdrop
This November, the Annual Caspian Technical Conference and Exhibition (CTCE) - organised by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) – will return to Astana for its third year hosted by KazsMunaiGas from 1-3 November at the Palace of Independance
Legislation
Secondment in Kazakhstan: Has the New Labor Code Legalized It?
As business globalizes and Kazakhstan joins the WTO, secondment and other forms of leased labor are going increasingly popular. Leased labor gives companies a number of notable advantages. Using leased labor, the host (receiving) company can cut its staff number, payroll taxes and the costs of opening offices in the regions and focus resources on its core business, outsourcing certain operations that are non-core for the company.
Recent Developments in the Resolution of «Investment Disputes» in Kazakhstan
Judicial reform is a major part of Kazakhstan's efforts to modernize its economy and improve its investment climate. The fair resolution of disputes between the state and investors is a key focus of these efforts.