ASTANA, Kazakhstan, October 5. ExxonMobil has invested more than $28 billion in Kazakhstan to date, said the Senior Vice President of ExxonMobil John Whelan during a meeting with Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov, Trend reports.
"This makes us one of the largest foreign investors. As a long-time partner in major projects such as Kashagan, Tengiz and the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, we look forward to further strengthening our bilateral ties and strategic partnership," he said.
In turn, Smailov noted that increasing local content in large oil and gas projects is one of the key factors for the development of basic sectors of the economy. In this regard, he called for strengthening interaction with local manufacturers interested in producing products for the needs of operators.
"This will make it possible to fill the need for a number of oil and gas engineering products that are currently imported," Smailov said.
The PM also added that the government of Kazakhstan is always open to constructive dialogue with the company as part of the implementation of joint plans.
ExxonMobil is a major international oil and gas company with a leading position in the energy and petrochemical industries. The company began its activities in Kazakhstan in 1993, becoming one of the first major investors in oil projects in the country.
The company owns: 25 percent of participation shares in Tengizchevroil LLP, which is developing the Tengiz field; 16.81 percent within the framework of the Production Sharing Agreement for the Northern Caspian Sea, which includes the Kashagan field; and 7.5 percent in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium.
