Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 27
By Nigar Guliyeva – Trend:
The Code “On Subsoil and Subsoil Use”, submitted to the Kazakh Parliament for consideration at the end of September, is aimed at creating favorable investment conditions and attractive investment climate in the country, Makhambet Dosmukhambetov, first deputy energy minister of Kazakhstan, said at a briefing Oct. 27, Kazakh media outlets reported.
“An investor will have a right to compensate for the cost of risks incurred at the exploration stage from production income,” he said. “There are issues related to exploration projects on the Caspian shelf, and when investors and big companies raise these issues, we are ready to agree for these costly and risky projects in case of changes in tax conditions, so that profitability would be ensured.”
Norms that significantly simplify granting of rights for subsoil use through the introduction of licensing procedure have been developed in the new Code.
Kazakhstan, holding 3 percent of the world's oil reserves, is among the top 15 countries in the world in terms of proven oil reserves.
Oil and gas bearing areas occupy 62 percent of the country's territory, and have 172 oil fields, of which more than 80 are under development. More than 90 percent of the oil reserves are concentrated in the 15 largest fields.
The fields are located on the territory of six of the fourteen regions of Kazakhstan. These are the Aktyubinsk, Atyrau, West Kazakhstan, Karaganda, Kyzylorda and Mangistau regions. About 70 percent of hydrocarbon reserves are concentrated in the west of Kazakhstan.