Vol. 3, No. 25, July 24, 2002
Politics 
Kazakhstan Prime Minister met with Vice President of ChevronTexacoGovernment reviews 6-month performance Kazakhstan to toughen environmental legislationEconomy
Kazakhstan wins uranium dumping trial Pension funds increase by 3.3% in first six months of 2001Average salary in Kazakhstan rises 19.2% in January-May 2002Six-month oil and gas production up 13%Tengizchevroil, Parker Drilling and Aral Parker sign cooperation agreementCPC expects Karachaganak oil in mid-2003Kazakhstan insurance companies to comply with international standards in 3-4 yearsPOLITICS
Kazakhstan Prime Minister met with Vice President of ChevronTexaco US-based ChevronTexaco, which holds a 50% interest in JV Tengizchevroil, intends to invest some USD 3 billion in the development of the Tengiz oil field developed by the JV. After meeting with Kazakhstan Prime Minister Imangali Tasmagambetov on July 17, ChevronTexaco Vice President George Kirkland told journalists that the new investments will be directed towards the construction of a "next generation" oil and gas processing plant. The funds will also aimed at boosting output at the field from 12.5 million tons to nearly 20 million tons annually.Government reviews 6-month performance Kazakhstan prime ministerial chancellery head Altay Tleuberdin on July 16 chaired a meeting to review the work of the Government in the first six months of 2002. Tleuberdin noted that Prime Minister Imangali Tasmagambetov has already visited all of Kazakhstan's 14 regions and two major cities since being named to the top Government post in January of this year. In addition, Tleuberdin noted that the Government has reviewed 302 parliamentary inquiries and over 2,000 letters from citizens, 139 of which were addressed directly to the prime minister. Kazakhstan's GDP increased by 9.6% during the first half of the year, while industrial production rose by 8.7 percent, and agricultural output -- by 5.1%, he said.
Kazakhstan to toughen environmental legislationThe Government of Kazakhstan plans to make environmental protection requirements for subsurface users more rigorous, Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Andar Shukputov stated on July 15 during a visit to West Kazakhstan region. Speaking at a press conference at the Karachaganak oil and gas condensate field, Shukputov said that environmental considerations were not always given their proper due during subsurface use contract negotiations with foreign investors."The issues were stipulated neither in the contracts, nor anywhere else, so now the current legislation is being reviewed to set up tougher terms," Shuktupov stated. The minister emphasized that changes in environmental legislation are not aimed at specific investors, but will apply to all subsurface users in Kazakhstan.ECONOMY
Kazakhstan wins uranium dumping trial Kazakhstan national atomic company KazAtomProm has won an anti-dumping lawsuit filed against the company by US-based USEC, the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange reported. As a result of the legal victory, all restrictions on the sale of Kazakhstan uranium in the United States have been lifted.
According to a KazAtomProm press release, after an initial anti-dumping investigation, the US Department of Commerce in July 1999 concluded that sales of Kazakhstan uranium caused no damage to the US economy. Pursuant to this finding, all import restrictions on Kazakhstan uranium were canceled at that time, but later in December 1999, US uranium producers appealed twice to the Department of Commerce to resume the trial. KazAtomProm won the case before US International Trade Court both times.Pension funds increase by 3.3% in first six months of 2001The assets of pension funds in Kazakhstan increased by 3.3% in the first six months of 2002 to total USD 1.447 billion as of July 1. According to the National Bank, seven asset companies and 16 pension funds, including one state-owned fund, manage Kazakhstan pensions at present.Average salary in Kazakhstan rises 19.2% in January-MayAccording to the National Statistics Agency, the average salary in Kazakhstan rose by 19.2% in the first five months of 2002 vis-a-vis January-May 2001. The unemployment rate in the republic fell to 9%, from just over 12% at the start of the year. Major oil producing regions Atyrau and Mangystau boasted the highest lever of monthly per capita income at more than twice the national average.Six-month oil and gas production up 13%Production of oil and gas condensate in Kazakhstan during the January-June 2002 period totaled 19.752 million tons, a 13% increase over six-month output in 2001, the Oil Information Agency Reported. Gas condensate production in the republic rose to 2.491 million tons, 2% more than during the reported period last year. Associated gas output rose by 17% to total 288,800 tons. Over the first five months of the year Kazakhstan exported 15.3 million tons of oil and gas condensate, an 11.5% increase over last year's January-May exports.Tengizchevroil, Parker Drilling and Aral Parker sign cooperation agreement Tengizchevroil, Parker Drilling and Aral Parker joint venture have signed a tertiary agreement on cooperation, the Kazakhstan Information Agency reported. Parker Drilling and Aral Parker, a 50-50 joint venture between Parker and Aral Nedra, have also signed a separate cooperation agreement. Negotiations on the trilateral tertiary agreement had been carried out over 3 years. Under the newly-signed document, drilling operations will commence in 2003 and will continue through the year 2006.
CPC expects Karachaganak oil in mid-2003The Caspian Pipeline Consortium expects to begin shipping oil and gas condensate from the Karachaganak field in West Kazakhstan region sometime in the middle of next year. Speaking in Moscow on July 15, CPC General Director Ian McDonald noted that the consortium of international oil companies developing the Karachaganak field is slated to complete a smaller pipeline to link with the CPC Tengiz-Novorossiisk route by that time. The CPC expects to receive some 6 million tons of liquid hydrocarbons a year from Karachaganak.CPC management is currently reviewing other options to boost the pipeline's through-put volumes and plans to submit the projects to CPC shareholders in November. By design, through-put capacity on the CPC line will eventually be ramped up to 67 million tons a year, from the current 28 million tons, including 17 million of Russian oil exports.Kazakhstan insurance companies to comply with international standards in 3-4 years Insurance companies operating in Kazakhstan will be expected to meet international standards in three or four years, National Bank Deputy Chairman Anvar Saydenov stated this week. Already this year the National Bank intends to begin introducing limited measures to bring the insurance sector in compliance with international control standards, Saydenov noted.
Over the next several months, the National Bank will apply stricter requirements for insurance companies, as well as enforce a mandatory switch to international accounting standards, Saydenov stated. The new requirements will likely lead to a reduction in the number of insurance companies active in the republic, leaving only "the strongest", he said.As of June 1, 2002, some 38 insurance companies possessed a license to work on the Kazakhstan insurance market, including four state-owned companies, 4 foreign-owned companies and one life insurance company. * * *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
