OREANDA-NEWS. March 17, 2008.  Karachaganak, one of Kazakhstan’s largest producing fields, delivered an outstanding performance in 2007, setting record levels of production and meeting a number of key milestones.

Last year marked the 10th Anniversary of the signing of the Karachaganak Final Production Sharing Agreement (FPSA) – an important milestone for both Karachaganak Petroleum Operating Company (KPO) and the development of Kazakhstan’s hydrocarbon sector.

In a little over ten years, there has been considerable development of the field and in 2007, Karachaganak produced over 133 million barrels of oil equivalent, a level not seen before from these facilities.

Today, Karachaganak is Kazakhstan’s largest gas producing field, accounting for some 49% of the country’s total gas production and around 18% of total liquids production.

Achieving this level of production is no small feat. The facilities utilise leading production and hydrocarbon processing technology and are operated in accordance with the highest safety and environmental protection standards.

During the year there was a considerable improvement in safety and environmental performance at Karachaganak. Reductions in both lost time injury rates and emission levels from the field were significant. In 2007, KPO achieved over 17 million injury free man hours without any days lost due to safety incidents and achieved gas utilisation of 99.65%, an improvement over the already outstanding 99.40% of 2006.

KPO also met its FPSA nationalisation targets ahead of schedule. Today, some 40 percent of all management positions within the venture are held by local Kazakh professionals. Going forward, KPO intends to intensify its efforts in local training and development to deliver improved performance in this area.

During 2007, KPO also completed a number of key social projects, including the refurbishment of the Uralsk Hospital’s surgical wing and the local sports stadium. To date, the venture has invested over \\$133 million in local social infrastructure projects and this will more than double in the coming years with the construction of the Karachaganak to Uralsk Gas Pipeline project. This project will bring much needed energy to local communities within the West Kazakhstan Oblast.

Commenting on 2007 performance, KPO General Director Roger Fox said: “With the support of the Republic and KazMunaiGaz, KPO has been able to achieve a great deal in the last ten years and particularly during 2007. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the Ministry of Energy & Mineral Resources and KazMunaiGaz (KMG) for their ongoing support. Our long-term partnership with both KMG and the Republic of Kazakhstan will be central to our continued success as we move toward the next phase of development.

Karachaganak not only represents vast resources and significant value for the Republic, its development has also brought enormous benefits to the communities within the West Kazakhstan Oblast. While we are focused on the continued development of the field, we also contribute to the Republic’s sustainable development agenda through social project support, infrastructure development and enhancing the knowledge and skills of local Kazakh people and our contracting companies.”