ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 10. During a working visit to the USA, Chairman of the Management Board of KazMunayGas, Askhat Khasenov met with the President of the American company Solomon Associates, Charles Wright, where the parties discussed the prospects for developing bilateral cooperation, with special attention paid to improving the efficiency of domestic oil refineries, Trend reports.
In the course of the meeting, the participants discussed the
long-standing involvement of Kazakh enterprises in Solomon's
benchmarking studies, which allow for an independent assessment of
their competitiveness.
In addition, considerable attention was given to projects aimed at
improving operational efficiency (PEP, Performance Excellence
Process). Since 2020, within the framework of cooperation with KMG,
the American company has proposed 109 recommendations for the
Atyrau, Pavlodar, and Shymkent refineries.
The implementation of these recommendations from Solomon
demonstrated significant economic effects: at Atyrau and Pavlodar
refineries, it exceeded the investment in the research project by 2
to 5 times, and at Rompetrol Petromidia, it reached $306 million
over 7 years.
Meanwhile, KazMunayGas also expressed interest in conducting TAR
benchmarking (turnaround—major repairs) at Atyrau refinery and
Pavlodar refinery as part of the transition to a three-year repair
cycle, as well as new research projects at Atyrau, Rompetrol
Petromidia, and CaspiBitum.
“KazMunayGas and Solomon Associates are bound by strong
partnerships and significant achievements based on the
implementation of advanced global practices in oil refining. We
intend to continue developing cooperation by applying the best
solutions to improve the efficiency of our enterprises,” said
Khasenov.
For his part, Solomon Associates President Charles Wright confirmed
the company's commitment to further cooperation and noted the
significant potential of Kazakhstan's oil refineries to improve
operational efficiency and competitiveness.
Solomon Associates, a name that's been around the block for over 40
years, stands tall as a heavyweight champion in the consulting ring
for the oil and gas sector. The Solomon methodology is an industry
standard. The research covers 85 percent of the world's refining
capacity (about 350 refineries), and in the CIS, it accounts for
over 70-75 percent of refining capacity.