Karachaganak Petroleum Operating B.V. announces year 2016 performance results
In 2016 KPO produced 139.7 million barrels of oil equivalent in the form of stable and unstable liquids, sour gas for export, and sweet gas for use as fuel. In addition, 8.04 billion cubic metres of sour dry gas were re-injected, a volume equivalent to approximately 46 per cent of the total gas produced.
KPO General Director, Renato Maroli, said: “As one of the largest investment projects in the Republic of Kazakhstan, Karachaganak is of paramount importance for the economy of the West Kazakhstan region and the country as a whole. As of today, KPO Partners have invested nearly $22 billion into development of Karachaganak”.
“Working in close cooperation with Akimat of West Kazakhstan region and the Authority - PSA LLP, KPO utilises the latest technologies, which enable achieving higher levels of hydrocarbon production in which leads to increased revenues for the RoK budget as well as sustainable development of the West Kazakhstan region", said Renato Maroli.
“In 2016, KPO continued implementation of its operational targets, taking into account the key principles of doing business, such as improving the efficiency of production operations and the level of professionalism of the company’s employees, strengthening corporate traditions and culture. Adherence to these principles allowed KPO to achieve exemplary production results, improved financial performance in such a challenging time for the industry and strengthen our positions as one of the leading oil and gas companies in the Republic of Kazakhstan", Renato Maroli added.
Karachaganak is one of the most geologically complicated fields in Kazakhstan. Currently, 119 production and 17 injection wells are operated in the Karachaganak field, with a total well stock amounting to 412 wells.
On May 13, 2016 KPO completed a major shutdown, which represented an important milestone in company’s history. The shutdown, conducted with extraordinary safety performance, allowed KPO to increase significantly the total annual production of stabilized hydrocarbons. About 3300 employees took part in preparatory works and the shutdown.
Today, KPO incident statistics is among the best among the companies in the oil and gas sector. The company implements wide-scale initiatives to prevent accidents and incidents. Conscious responsibility of each employee over rigid compliance with safety regulations is an integral part of the production culture in KPO and its contracting companies.
Frequency of Road Traffic Incidents (RTI) decreased from 0.03 in 2015 to 0.02 in 2016.
“We strive to fully prevent any incidents and raise awareness of them with our employees, contractors and sub-contractors working at Karachaganak. Our goal is to perform the works safely and reduce the number of incidents to zero", said Renato Maroli.
KPO follows the principle of sustainable development while adhering to the highest standards of environmental protection in all aspects of its activity.
During the period from 1998 to 2016, KPO has invested $329 million for the implementation of environmental protection activities.
As the largest employer in the West Kazakhstan region, KPO provides thousands of long term jobs with competitive salaries.
“KPO’s new nationalisation program has been approved to ensure gradual increase in the number of local employees by 2020. This is not limited to physical rotation of personnel, but is focused on replacement of expatriate employees with local specialists of equivalent professional qualification” said Renato Maroli.
During 2016, 36 senior and middle management foreign staff and 31 skilled workers were replaced by the national employees as per this program. At the end of 2016, KPO for the first time reached the target of 80 per cent in category 1 + 2 (Executive Management, Department/Unit Management), which indicates the success of the strategy.
Each year, KPO invests $20 million for implementation of a number of major infrastructure development projects in the West Kazakhstan region. Furthermore, in 2014-2016, KPO allocated $10 million per year for implementation of social infrastructure development projects in Burlin district of the region. To date, KPO has invested $340 million into development of social infrastructure in the West Kazakhstan region.
