LUKOIL – KazMunayGas Agreement on Joint Studies
President of LUKOIL Vagit Alekperov and Chairman of the Management Board of KazMunayGas Alik Aidarbayev have signed on September 20 in Almaty (Kazakhstan) an Agreement on Joint Studies.
The two companies agreed on major terms of cooperation and expressed their willingness to begin studies on mineral resources in order to evaluate the hydrocarbon potential of certain areas in the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The agreement continues the long-term successful cooperation between the two companies. Earlier this year LUKOIL, the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan and KazMunayGas concluded a contract for hydrocarbon exploration and production on the Zhenis block. Baseline agreement on the I-P-2 project was also signed earlier this year. Both projects are located in Kazakhstan Caspian shelf. In addition, LUKOIL and KazMunayGas are strategic partners in a number of large-scale projects: Karachaganak, Tengiz, Kumkol, Caspian Pipeline Consortium (crude oil transportation project) among them.
The I-P-2 license block is located in the Kazakh Sector of the Caspian Sea with water depth within its area ranging from 300 to 400 meters. The distance to the shore is 130 kilometers. The nearest port, Aktau, is 130 kilometers from the block. A number of 2D seismic surveys covering the block area were acquired in previous years.
Background
LUKOIL has been operating successfully in Kazakhstan since 1995. The company participates in the development of the Tengiz, Karachaganak and Kumkol fields, in a joint venture developing the Tsentralnoye field in the Caspian Sea as well as in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium.
In April 2019, LUKOIL and KazMunayGas concluded a contract for hydrocarbon exploration and development on the Zhenis block in the Kazakh Sector of the Caspian Sea.
Zhenis Operating LLP (a fifty-fifty joint venture between LUKOIL and KazMunayGas) will be operator of the project.
In accordance with the concluded contract main minimal obligations include drilling of one exploration well and a 3D seismic survey.
The new project in the Caspian Sea is an important step in expanding the resource base in the region which has a strategic importance for LUKOIL and where it has accumulated considerable expertise.
In 2018, LUKOIL and KazMunayGas concluded a Joint Operating Agreement and a Financing Agreement on the Zhenis project and in February 2019 the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan issued mineral rights on the block.
