Atyrau Region: Chinese to Search for Oil

KazMunayGas has chosen a partner to help it search for oil at the Jylyoi field in the Atyrau region. The partner is the Chinese corporation China National Offshore Oil Corporation International Limited (CNOOC), Orda.kz reports.

Oil and gas industry analyst Oleg Chervinsky writes that KMG Chair of the Board Askhat Khasenov and CNOOC Chair Wang Dongjing signed a cooperation agreement in Astana. He notes that the Chinese corporation will receive the right to explore the Jylyoi field. The area will be 400 square kilometers.

The agreement provides for drilling one above-salt exploratory well two kilometers deep. If the exploration yields results, another well will be drilled at the field.

According to KMG’s preliminary assessment, the geological resource potential of the subsoil area could amount to over 185 million tons of oil, Oleg Chervinsky emphasizes. 

The parties agreed that the Chinese would be the ones to explore the Jylyoi field back in August. At that time, Askhat Khasenov visited Beijing and met with the head of CNOOC. Following this meeting, Khasenov and Wang Dongjing signed a memorandum of intent.

KazMunayGas officially began looking for a strategic partner to explore and develop Jylyoi a month ago. The terms of the agreement assume that the Chinese corporation will invest in the project equally with KazMunayGas and will subsequently be able to obtain the right to subsoil use. 

CNOOC is not the only major Chinese corporation expanding its presence in Kazakhstan. At the end of August, it became known that CNPC will actively invest in oil and gas projects in Kazakhstan.

Original Author: Nikita Drobny