Azerbaijan, Baku, March 14 / Trend E. Kosolapova/
The Kazakh Oil and Gas Company KazMunaiGas Exploration Production (EP KMG) appointed the General Director of its parent company KazMunaiGas (KMG) Lyazzat Kiinov as Chairman of the Сompany's Board of Directors at the regular meeting of the EP KMG Board of Directors on March. 14, the company reported.
Moreover, the Company's Board of Directors approved the date and the agenda for the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, which will take place on 29 May 2012 in Astana.
The agenda of General Meeting of Shareholders the includes approval of annual consolidated financial statements and the Company's Annual Report for 2011, the net income allocation for the year 2011 and the dividend per ordinary and preferred share of the Company, evaluation of the work of the Board of Directors of KMG EP in 2011.
The Board of Directors has recommended a dividend payment per one ordinary and one preferred share of KMG EP for 2011 to be 1,300 tenge (including taxes withheld in accordance with the legislation of Kazakhstan). The recommended total dividend for 2011 is about 91 billion Tenge (approx. $ 615 million).
The dividend recommendation made by the Board is the highest amount per share since IPO in 2006 and implies a 62.5 percent increase in dividend per share in tenge terms compared to the previous year. The Board's recommendation, if implemented, will lead to distribution of a portion of the accumulated cash resources not invested in the oil and gas projects which together with continued share buyback should improve financial efficiency and investment appeal of KMG EP. At the same time the Board is confident that the remaining financial resources at the Company's disposal are sufficient to finance future growth projects including exploration programme and potential acquisitions.
If the General Meeting of Shareholders approve the recommended rate, it is expected that the payment of the annual dividend for 2011 will be made to shareholders of the Company on record as at June 11, 2012 and will start from July 16, 2012.
KMG EP is among the top three Kazakh oil and gas producers. The overall production in 2010 was 13.3million tons of crude oil, including the Company's share in Kazgermunai, CCEL, PKI and NBK. The total volume of proved and probable reserves, as at the end of 2010 was 232milliont (1.7billion bbl), including shares in the associates - about 2.2 billion barrels. The Company's shares are listed on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange and the GDRs are listed on The London Stock Exchange.