/Kazakhstan today, 15.09.03/ - China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), that owns oil extracting and processing facilities in Western Kazakhstan, became a 100% owner of Severnye Buzachi oilfield located at Mangistau Oblast. Bolat Palymbetov, the akim oblast, informed about this fact KZ-today.

As was informed previously, CNPC acquired the whole 35% share in Texaco North Buzachi Inc. J.V., which develops Severnye Buzachi oilfield, from Nimir Petroleum Ltd (Saudi Arabia). At that time Chinese company informed about its intention to buy out the rest 65% from the second participant of this project - the American ChevronTexaco. However, concrete dates concluding such an agreement's were not announced.

According to Palymbetov, a deal on purchase and sale of the rest share in Severnye Buzachi oilfield was concluded a day or two ago and was correspondingly approved by Vladimir Shkolnik, the Minister of energy and mineral resources of Kazakhstan, who visited Mangistau Oblast this week

The Akim expressed his gratitude to ChevronTexaco, with which, according to him, it was "easy to work". He also conveyed his hope that Mangistau region "won't encounter any problems" with Chinese investor as well. According to Palymbetov B., he ordered CNPC not to lay off any personnel that currently working at the oilfield, avoid cutting wages and carry out other social responsibilities.

B. Palymbetov informed that CNPC hopes in the nearest future to carry out project on full-scale oil production at Severnye Buzachi oilfield, which is currently under operation testing.

He noted that the Chinese company has great plans concerning this project, it is going to increase the levels of oil extraction up to 1 mn of tones from current 300 th of tones level. Earlier, ChevronTexaco was meant to carry out the project of industrial exploitation of Severnye Buzachi oilfield, but it couldn't find its approval by the government for about one year.

Extracting hydrocarbon reserves of this field are estimated to be approximately 300- 500mn barrels of crude oil. Its potential reserves can amount to 1bn barrels of oil.

CNPC has been working in Kazakhstan since 1997. This company owns 85% of Aktobemunaigas OJSC that extracts more than 5mn tones of oil annually. The enterprise from the beginning of the current year started transporting its oil through a system of Caspian Pipeline Consortium. Besides, national company KazMunaiGas and CNPC reached an agreement to develop technical - economical justification of the pipeline construction to export Kazakhstani oil to Western China. Chinese companies in turn are interested in development of fields at Kazakhstan shelf.

[2003-09-15]