Kazakh Leader Inaugurates New Oil Facilities in Western Region

Excerpt from report by state-owned Kazakh TV

[Presenter] President Nursultan Nazarbayev is on the second day of his working visit to [western] Atyrau Region. The president inaugurated a new bridge, visited a swimming pool yesterday and inaugurated new facilities at an oil refinery in Zhylyoy District today. These facilities will increase the flow of investments into our country and contribute to further development of our country.

[Correspondent] The new facilities in Zhylyoy District have been built by TengizChevrOil, the first company to invest in the Kazakh oil sector. These facilities are needed to increase the company’s oil production. The company has carried out two projects recently. These are a sour gas injection project and a project to refine sour gas and sulphur. The two projects cost 7bn dollars. The president was familiarized with these projects today.

[Nursultan Nazarbayev in Kazakh] The inflow of money into our country will help boost our economy. So I congratulate all of us on this day, the day when this plant was put into operation, the day when the work costing 7bn dollars was finished, and wish you prosperity.

[Correspondent] TengizChevrOil will now increase its revenues. The new facilities allow the company to increase its daily oil output at the Tengiz oil field by 540,000 barrels. The construction of these facilities started in 2001 and was completed this year.

[David O'Reilly, chairman of the board of directors of the Chevron corporation, captioned] We have attained these results thanks to, first of all, our employees. Kazakh citizens comprise 80 per cent of the personnel of TengizChevrOil.

[Passage omitted: the president learnt the general layout of the region's administrative centre, visited a hotel]

[Nursultan Nazarbayev in Kazakh] Our policies aimed at attracting investments have brought such great results. TengizChevrOil will be the only company that produces 25m tonnes of oil instead of 24m [a year]. This is the largest contribution to an increase in oil production [in Kazakhstan]. Another great result of the work of the last 15 years – many of our compatriots have obtained specialist qualifications and become engineers. Also, modern technologies are flowing into Kazakhstan.

[Passage omitted: background]

Originally published by Kazakh Television first channel, Astana, in Kazakh 1400 05 Jun 08.

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