OREANDA-NEWS. November 06, 2013. Our Aktau tubular plant has won the “Kazakh Content Project of the Year” award during the recent KazEnergy Forum, becoming the first non-oil and gas company to be recognised at the annual event.

The Oil and Gas Year Awards recognise exceptional individuals and projects, highlighting achievements that have contributed to the overall progress of Kazakhstan’s petroleum industry.

ArcelorMittal Aktau’s steel pipes, made with steel produced in Temirtau and using iron ore and coal extracted from mines in Kazakhstan, were used to build the 70km Almaty - Baiserke – Talgar gas distribution network. Eight thousand tonnes of steel pipes, which have a three-layer anti-corrosion coating,  have been produced for the project.

Zhenis Utegenov, CEO of ArcelorMittal Aktau, accepted the award from the CEO of the association and expressed his gratitude for the recognition of the Aktau mill’s contribution: “The ArcelorMittal team worked for almost three years on the Almaty – Baiserke – Talgar gas pipeline project and we are pleased to be recognised for what we have accomplished. Thanks to our effective partnership with ArcelorMittal Temirtau, we achieved a record high percentage of using 90% of local products and services in the gas pipeline project, while normally this figure is zero”, he said.

Building the Almaty – Baiserke – Talgar gas pipeline was a unique project for Kazakhstan and Central Asia, as it was the first time Kazakhstan-made pipes were used to build a trunk gas pipeline.

Kazakhstan is investing heavily in developing its domestic energy capacity by ensuring that every significant project promotes local businesses as much as possible, primarily through using locally produced goods or services.

ArcelorMittal Aktau was the only non-petroleum entity to have won an award. Other winners included North Caspian Operating Company (Shell, Total, ExxonMobil, Eni), Tengizchevroil (Chevron, ExxonMobil, Lukoil) and Karachaganak Petroleum Operating (BG, Eni, Chevron).

The award ceremony took place in the country’s capital Astana, at the official opening of the  seventh KazEnergy Eurasian Forum. The event was attended by a number of high-level officials, including Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov; the oil and gas minister Uzakbay Karabalin; UAE’s minister for energy, Suhail Mohamed Faraj Fares Almazrouei; former Prime Minister of France Francois Fillon and  the World Petroleum Council’s senior VP Joseph Toth.