BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 23. Kazakhstan will have offered a total of 112 subsoil blocks for hydrocarbon use through auctions by the end of 2026, including 56 blocks to be put up at an electronic auction on December 25, the Ministry of Energy said.
The upcoming auction will be held on the e-Qazyna electronic platform, with applications accepted until November 18.
“A total of 56 out of the 112 subsoil blocks will be offered at the upcoming December auction. They are located in various regions of Kazakhstan, including the Mangystau, Aktobe, Atyrau, West Kazakhstan, Ulytau, Kostanay and Kyzylorda regions,” the ministry said.
The auctions are being held as part of efforts to implement the president’s instructions to improve the efficiency of subsoil use and create conditions for investment in geological exploration and the further development of the oil and gas sector, the ministry said.
Obtaining subsoil use rights will entail investment and exploration commitments for successful bidders. Minimum volumes of geological exploration, including seismic surveys and drilling, have been established for each block.
Following the conclusion of a contract, auction winners will have one year to prepare an exploration work program. They will then be required to complete the specified 2D seismic survey requirements within three years and, where stipulated by the terms of a particular block, drill at least one well within four years.
The contracts will also include requirements related to human capital development, science and regional infrastructure. During the production period, subsoil users will be required to allocate 1% of the previous year's production costs to training Kazakh personnel and another 1% to research, scientific and technical, and experimental design work in Kazakhstan. A further 1% of contract investments will be allocated to the socio-economic development of the region and its infrastructure.
Local content requirements will include at least 70% for works, 70% for services and 30% for goods. The share of Kazakh personnel must be at least 80% among managers and their deputies, 90% among heads of structural units, and 100% among specialists and skilled workers.
Additional requirements will apply to large fields. If initial geological reserves exceed 100 million tons of oil or 50 billion cubic meters of natural gas, the contract must include an obligation to establish or modernize processing facilities, supply the produced hydrocarbons for processing in Kazakhstan, or implement another investment or socio-economic project.
“With the 56 subsoil blocks to be offered at the December auction, Kazakhstan will have offered a total of 112 blocks for subsoil use rights by the end of 2026. The blocks come with commitments covering geological exploration, drilling, investment, training of Kazakh personnel, scientific development, local infrastructure and increasing local content,” the ministry said.
.
