Vol. 2, No. 22, June 26, 2002
Politics 
Senate votes for child's bill of rightsKazakhstan continues fight against corruptionKazakhstan confirms its commitment to sanctity of contractsEconomy
In January-May 2002 Kazakhstan's oil and natural gas production rose by 14% and 4%Halliburton looking to expand its operations in Kazakhstan CPC to reach planned capacity by summer 2003 Kazakhstan to become important gas supplier for Europe POLITICS
Senate votes for child's bill of rightsOn June 25, Senate, the upper house of Kazakhstan parliament, passed the bill "On rights of a child" following the work of the joint Senate-Majilis conference. The bill stipulates the basic rights of a child. It also has specific provisions requiring the state to take steps to fight illegal trafficking in children, kidnapping and the trade in children. The bill specifies the responsibilities of various state agencies in that sphere and toughens the consequences for state employees and citizens for violating the rights of a child or causing harm to him or her.The bill was sent to the conference after the Senate introduced an amendment ensuring rights for state benefits are not only given to disabled children but also to their parents and caretakers. The bill goes to President Nazarbayev for signature.Kazakhstan continues fight against corruptionOn June 24, the Supreme Court of Kazakhstan began hearing the case of a former Government minister charged with abuse of office. Mukhtar Ablyazov, former minister of energy, industry and trade, who was dismissed from the Government in 1999, has been under investigation for committing a number of corruption-related crimes ever since.Following the due legal process, he was arrested in the spring of 2002 on charges of abuse of power. The charges related to his use of Government office to curry favors and use public resources for the benefit of an affiliated private company, resulting in damages to the state of 557 million tenge ($1=T154), as well as other violations. Announcing the charges in court on June 25, Vladimir Root, the prosecutor of the Prosecutor General's office, sought the indictment of Mr. Ablyazov under two articles of the Criminal Code, abuse of office and illegal business activities.The hearings are expected to include more than 40 witnesses.In another development, the recently-created Anti-corruption and Professional Ethics Commission under the President has sent a series of inquiries to the Prosecutor General asking for information on all previously closed or suspended investigations into corruption charges against state officials. Mr. Ablyazov's case is among a number of pending high-level corruption cases concerning, among others, a former regional governor and the minister of transport and communications.Kazakhstan confirms its commitment to sanctity of contractsAstana has no intention of revising the contracts it has signed with foreign investors over the past decade, Secretary of State and Foreign Minister Kassymzhomart Tokaev told the Majilis on June 21. In his remarks to the Eurasian Economic Summit in Almaty in early April, President Nazarbayev said, "Principles of our relations with foreign partners are unshakable. They are the invariability and stability of the signed contracts and firm balance of economic interests of the parties". The statements came as Kazakhstan continues to bolster its favorable investment climate and attract billion dollars of investment into its oil and gas and other industries from the United States, European and Asian companies. Since its independence, Kazakhstan attracted more than $15 billion in foreign direct investment, of which $5 billion came from American companies.Vladimir Shkolnik, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, is expected to make a major announcement about new auctions for concessions in the Republic during the upcoming investment conference in Kansas. The conference, "Kazakhstan: the Premier Market for Investment and Trade", is to take place in Kansas City July 1st and 2nd. Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Secretary Spencer Abraham will be leading the U.S. delegation that will include high-level representatives from the State Dept., Overseas Private Investment Corporation and executives of major American companies. Secretary of State Kassymzhomart Tokaev will head the Kazakhstan's delegation of more than 20 business people from different industries in Kazakhstan eager to meet new American partners. ECONOMY
In January-May 2002 Kazakhstan's oil and natural gas production rose by 14% and 4%From January to May 2002, Kazakhstan extracted 16.416 million tons of crude oil, up 14% from the same period last year, National Statistics Agency said. During the past five months gas condensate mining, however, reached 2.044 million tons, 2% down from last year's totals for the same period.During the same period, Kazakhstan extracted 5.169 billion cubic meters of natural gas, down 5% and 4.290 billion cubic meters of treated gas, up 4% from the same period last year. In January-April this year, Kazakhstan exported 11.335 million tons of oil and gas condensate, an increase of 9% from the same period in 2001, totaling of $1.069 billion.Halliburton looking to expand its operations in KazakhstanPrime Minister Imangali Tasmagambetov met with Mr. David Lesar, chairman and chief executive director of Halliburton in Astana on June 19 to discuss expanding the company's business in Kazakhstan.Halliburton's presence in Kazakhstan would attract not only new and leading technology to the country, but also raise a generation of qualified local specialists. The company has been asked to participate in the implementation of offshore projects in the northern region of the Caspian Sea with Kazakhstan's developers.Halliburton entered the Kazakhstan's market in 1996 as a large services provider for burgeoning oil and gas industry. The company's largest operations in Kazakhstan include the construction of oil refineries at the Tengiz field and the oversight over the drilling and the construction of offshore wells at the Kashagan project, the largest oil find in the world in 30 years with potential reserves of up to 50 billion barrels.Following a separate meeting with the regional governor in Western Kazakhstan, Mr. Lesar announced that Halliburton agreed to help develop the region's petrochemical industry. In 2003, the company will assist in the construction of reinforced thermoplastic pipe plant in the region. In addition, the two sides discussed the possibility of Halliburton funding the opening of a regional center to train and re-train oil and gas specialists.CPC to reach planned capacity by summer 2003The Caspian Pipeline Consortium expects its Tengiz-Novorossiisk pipeline, which was launched last fall to carry hydrocarbons from western Kazakhstan to a Russian Black Sea port, to reach full planned capacity of 28.5 million tons of crude per year by the summer of 2003, CPC General Director Ian MacDonald told the Oil Information Agency last week. The pipeline mostly carries crude from Tengiz, one the ten largest oil fields in the world, developed by Tenzichevroil joint venture. Its major partners are ChevronTexaco with the controlling 50-% stake, ExxonMobil with a 25-% share and KazMunaigas at 20 percent Around mid-2003, the CPC will also begin expanding its facilities by increasing reservoir capacity and the number of compressor stations, the OIA added. Russia, Kazakhstan and Oman own significant shares in the CPC (at 24%, 19% and 7% each, respectively), while ChevronTexaco is the CPC's largest corporate shareholder with a 15% stake. Mobil Caspian Pipeline (7.5%), Russian-American JV LUKARCO B.V. (12.5%), Kazakhstan Pipeline Ventures LLC (1.75%) and others hold interests in the consortium.Kazakhstan to become important gas supplier for Europe Kazakhstan will export about 3 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Europe by the end of 2002, compared with virtually nothing in 2001, an official at KazMunayGas, Kazakhstan's national gas company said June 19, Dow Jones Newswires reported.The exports have become possible due to the establishment earlier in June of a joint venture, KazRosGas, between KazMunayGas and Russia's Gasprom, responsible for the transit of the Kazakh oil and natural gas through Russian pipelines to western Europe."We consider this [exports to Europe] a large achievement, because in the past 10 years we couldn't transport gas anywhere independently, but had to sell it to Russia," the official said, Dow Jones Newswires reported.The gas will come from the Karachaganak gas condensate field in western Kazakhstan, operated by the Karachaganak Petroleum Operating Organization that includes U.S.-based ChevronTexaco with a 20 percent stake. * * *For more news and information visit us at www.kazakhstan-embassy-us.org
News Bulletin of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan
(Compiled from own sources and various agencies' reports)
Contact persons: Roman Vassilenko, Aibek Nurbalin
Tel.: (202) 232- 5488 ext. 104, 115
Fax: (202) 232- 5845
