Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov spoke at a solemn event in honor of the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the development of Kazakhstan's Caspian Sea shelf with the participation of veterans of the oil and gas industry of the Republic.

As the Head of Government noted, since 1993, colossal research work has been done in the North Caspian Sea, which allowed to identify dozens of promising structures.

"The main result of exploration drilling was the announcement of commercial discovery of the Kashagan field. Its uniqueness is that it has huge oil and gas reserves, but at the same time it is difficult in terms of development," Alikhan Smailov said.

According to him, at that time the oil industry of young independent Kazakhstan on the sea shelf was just emerging, and foreign investors were familiarizing themselves with the peculiarities of the Northern Caspian. These included harsh winter conditions, shallow waters and high environmental sensitivity.

"A lot of efforts and funds have been invested in innovative technologies to manufacture specialized equipment suitable for the conditions of the Kashagan project," the Prime Minister noted.

Alikhan Smailov stressed that today the results of this painstaking work are visible: about 90 million tons of oil and 55 billion cubic meters of gas have been produced, investments worth more than $60 billion have been attracted, over $17 billion has been invested in the development of local content, about 10 thousand people have been provided with jobs, and at the peak of construction more than 40 thousand people have been employed.

It was noted that the operator of the North Caspian project - consortium North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC) is facing important tasks to further increase production through full-scale development of the field. According to experts, the production potential of Kashagan may reach 1.6 million barrels of oil per day, which is about 75 million tons per year.

"An important issue is the development of gas processing facilities at the field. As you know, this task was set by the Head of State before the Government. And we must fulfill it within the established timeframe and in full. I am sure that the NCOC team has great potential to achieve the set goals," Alikhan Smailov said. 

According to him, the Government of Kazakhstan is always open to constructive dialog within the framework of realization of joint plans.

"We highly appreciate the Consortium's contribution to the development of the oil and gas industry and are committed to further expansion of long-term cooperation," he concluded.

NCOC Managing Director Olivier Lazar also spoke at the event.

"I am proud of our current achievements and hope that together with the Government of Kazakhstan we will achieve even greater success. As an Operator, NCOC strives to bring the maximum possible benefit to the economy of Kazakhstan and make its contribution to the dynamic development of the country," he said.

In accordance with the Decree of the Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan presented state awards to the veterans of the North Caspian project for their contribution to the socio-economic development of Kazakhstan.

Managers and responsible employees of NCOC, as well as veterans of the project were awarded with the orders "Parasat", "Kurmet", "Dostyk" of II degree, "Yenbek danbeky" of III degree and the medal "Yeren enbegi ushin".

#Alikhan Smailov #The Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan

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