"KazMunayGaz", Central Asia Petroleum Ltd ink agreement to buy "MangistauMunayGaz" shares

ASTANA. January 13. KAZINFORM On Jan. 12, the National Company KazMunayGas and the Central Asia Petroleum Ltd signed an agreement in Astana. Under the agreement, KazMunayGas will acquire 50% + 2 voting shares of the MangistauMunayGaz (MMG), the KazMunayGas Public Relations Director Ilya Pustogachev told the Astana-based Trend correspondent.

?The buy-in will take place by the end of March 2009, after the approval of the Kazakhstan Agency for Protection of Competition and the European Commission is obtained and the previously reached agreements are fulfilled," said Ilya Pustogachev, adding that the MMG shares would be acquired through the own funds of the KazMunayGas group of companies. The National Company KazMunaiGas is Kazakhstan's national operator for exploration, production, processing and transportation of hydrocarbons. The company represents the State?s oil and gas interests. The National Welfare Fund Samruk-Kazyna owns the 100 percent of the KazMunayGas shares. Central Asia Petroleum Ltd is a company registered in the British Virgin Islands. The company owns 100 percent of the MangistauMunayGaz voting shares. MangistauMunayGaz is one of the major oil companies in Kazakhstan. The company has 36 oil and gas fields, with 15 of them being developed ? the largest are Kalamkas and Zhetybai. In June 1996, MangistauMunayGaz was issued a 25-year license by the Kazakhstan Government to produce hydrocarbons in the gas fields Asar, Burmasha, Kalamkas, East Zhetybai, the oil fields Alatobe and North Karagiye, oil and gas fields Zhetybai and Oymasha. In November 1996, the company was issued a license to develop the South Zhetybai gas and condensate field. MangistauMunayGaz owns 58 percent of the Pavlodar Petrochemical Plant. In December 2007, KazMunayGas and the Central Asia Petroleum Ltd signed a letter of intent to enable the national company to acquire the MangistauMunayGaz oil and gas assets, Kazinform cites Trend News.