The Head of State held the third Working Meeting
with the heads of Oil and Gas companies - members of the Foreign Investors’
Council in the format of a video conference. During the meeting, measures for
the further development and increase of the investment attractiveness of the
country's oil and gas sector were considered in detail.
The speakers were Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar, heads of Oil and Gas companies such as Eni S.p.A., Royal Dutch Shell, INPEX Corporation, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, CNPC, Total E&P. The meeting was moderated by the head of Eni S.p.A. in the Central Asian region Luciano Vazques.
Opening the
meeting, the President noted that the oil and gas sector has always played a
significant role in the national progress of our country. In his opinion,
despite technological changes, the industry will remain the driving force
behind the country's economy. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev believes that Kazakhstan,
being an oil-rich state, is obliged to use the existing potential as
efficiently and effectively as possible.
The Head of
State set a number of priority tasks for the members of the Council and the
Government of the country.
The President stressed the importance of timely
implementation of projects to expand the Tengiz, Kashagan and Karachaganak
fields to ensure the country's economic growth. In this regard, he expressed
concern about the implementation of the Tengiz Future Growth Project, the
construction work of which is almost 20% behind schedule, and instructed the
Government, together with the project operator, to take appropriate measures to
prevent the deadline for its completion.
Speaking about the prospects for the
development of Kashagan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stated the need to have a vision
for the implementation of the third phase of work to increase oil production to
1.1 million barrels per day.
The Head of State also spoke about the development
of new investment mechanisms, in particular, about an improved model contract.
This document will provide legal protection and stability of investments with
the provision of investment preferences. In this regard, the Government was
instructed to expedite the determination of the package of fiscal preferences
and ensure the adoption of legislative norms by the end of this year.
Along with this, President informed members of the
Council about the Agreement on geological exploration of subsoil that is being
developed, which will allow investors to guarantee the transition from
geological exploration of subsoil to exploration and production.
According to Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, in the
struggle for global investments, the speed of making investment decisions is of
strategic importance. In this regard, he pointed out to the state authorities
the need for a more flexible and prompter response to the requests and problems
of investors.
The head of state spoke about the agreement on
the establishment of an Interdepartmental Front Office, the activities of which
will be carried out on the principle of "one stop shop ". The
President said that this Front Office will include the deputy first heads of
the relevant Ministries and will be headed by the Minister of Energy.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev also called the creation
of gas processing facilities at the existing oil and gas fields an important
task.
- In this context, the timely launch of
construction of the gas processing plant at Kashagan was an important event.
The government, together with the Samruk-Kazyna National Welfare Fund, has
developed a stimulating price formula for the purchase of gas from subsoil
users for new gas production projects. Therefore, I invite you to take part in
the implementation of projects to increase the production of marketable gas, -
said President.
Another priority area for the development of
the industry, according to the Head of State, should be the development of deep
processing of hydrocarbons. The use of gas for gas chemical projects will
reduce the raw material orientation of the industry.
In his speech, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev drew
attention to the need to ensure a high share of Kazakhstani content in oil and
gas projects.
Focusing on the prospects for strengthening
technological cooperation between Kazakhstani and foreign companies, the Head
of State noted the activities of the International Center for the Development
of Oil and Gas Engineering, created with the support of Chevron, Total, Eni,
ExxonMobil, Agip. The government has been instructed to create an effective
technology transfer system based on international best practices.
Summing up the results of the meeting,
Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev commented on the proposals and recommendations of the
meeting participants, setting the Government the task by the end of this year
to ensure the adoption of legislative norms and submit a full report on the
work done on all the issues raised.
In addition, the Head of State did not rule out the use of other similar foreign platforms for resolving disputes along with the AIFC Arbitration Court, and also confirmed his interest in continuing the joint work and ensuring the attractiveness of the investment climate in our country.