Kazakhstan Must Develop Its Own Oil Services – Tokayev
Kazakhstan should create mechanisms for financial support for its oil service companies, said the country’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
“It is necessary to take effective measures to provide bank financing to Kazakh enterprises under signed contracts with oil and gas corporations. Financial regulators need to finally make a decision on this issue,” Tokayev said at a meeting with business representatives on Tuesday.
He instructed the government to take comprehensive measures to promote Kazakh oil service companies abroad. Another instruction was a “counter” one: to achieve the relocation of foreign oil service project offices to the country and to attract Kazakh specialists.
Tokayev noted that design solutions include imported materials and equipment, which denies local producers access to the implementation of oil and gas projects.
“The local content in goods used in the largest projects (Tengiz, Kashagan, Karachaganak) does not even reach 5%. The government should strive to move project design offices to Kazakhstan with the mandatory involvement of local engineers and companies,” the head of state said.
Tokayev emphasized that in this case we cannot talk about violation of contractual obligations to foreign partners. “We have worked and will work together with large foreign companies. In essence, this is our long-term strategy. At the same time, we reasonably demand that our requirements be taken into account,” the president said.
He also expressed the opinion that Kazakh employees of oil service companies released from the Tengiz expansion project could be employed in Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
“In connection with the completion of the future expansion project in Tengiz, tens of thousands of oil service industry workers are being released. Potentially promising countries for employing Kazakh specialists are Qatar and Saudi Arabia,” Tokayev said.
