President congratulates oil and gas workers, hands over state awards
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev took the floor at a ceremonial meeting dedicated to the 125th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s oil and gas industry. The Head of State congratulated the workers of the sector on this remarkable date, Kazinform News Agency reports.
“As you know, the first Kazakh oil was extracted in the Atyrau region at the turn of the century. Since that time, hydrocarbons have played a huge role in the country's economy. No wonder oil is nicknamed as black gold. The development of civilization and its technical achievements are inextricably linked to the development of energy resources, which serve as the driving force of scientific and technological progress. Undoubtedly, oil production in our country also contributed to this important process,” the Head of State said.
As the President emphasized, Kazakhstan’s oil industry has its own rich history and traditions. Famous Kazakh scientists and oil workers made a huge contribution to its formation and development.
“Thanks to the work of such outstanding professionals as Safi Utebayev, Zholdaskali Dosmukhambetov, Bulekbai Sagingaliyev, oil deposits were explored and discovered, ensuring the well-being of our country. Of course, their contribution to the development of the domestic oil and gas industry will always serve as an example for young people,” said Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev.
According to him, oil and gas are strategic resources, which the national economy is based on.
“This became possible thanks to hard and persevering work of the oil workers. As many as 250,000 people are employed in this sector today. Innovative technologies are introduced into oil production and new environmental safety standards have been approved. Apart from raw materials production, Kazakhstan has also set up their processing. We produce most types of fuel and oil products. Undoubtedly, KazMunayGas national company enormously contributed to it. Kazakhstan ranks among the countries playing a key role at the global oil market. The country's energy security has been strengthened,” the President said.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev also spoke on the companies contributing to the development of the sector in Kazakhstan, such as Chevron, ExxonMobil, CNPC, ENI, Shell, LUKOIL, TOTAL and Sinopec.
"The development of Tengiz, Kashagan, Karachaganak deposits, the implementation of the CPC Project are the vivid examples of mutually beneficial cooperation between the state and investors. Thanks to the open and verified policy in this area, Kazakhstan is tightly integrated into the global economy attracting a large amount of investment, ”said Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev.
Further in his speech the Head of State outlined a number of tasks to be resolved in oil and gas industry in the future.
“To achieve higher production volumes, we need to actively introduce advanced technologies into geological exploration and development of deposits. Amid unprecedented international turbulence, priority should be given to further diversification of export routes. Oil processing development is of great importance. We need to ensure stable manufacture of oil products meeting up-to-date environmental standards. Petrochemical industry is quite promising area,” he stressed.
“We should expand our potential in manufacture of high value added products. Oil and gas should serve as one of the drivers of small and medium businesses development. The government takes comprehensive measures to achieve this goal. Major enterprises should gradually raise their localization level and use the products manufactured by Kazakhstani producers. Social responsibility and contribution to the social infrastructure development remains important. Special attention should be given to highly-qualified personnel training,” the President concluded.
Upon completion of the event, the President handed over state awards to the citizens who significantly contributed to the sector’s development.
