Oil company controlled by Kulibayev plans to sell geological information to a Chinese company

Crystal Management, a company controlled by Timur Kulibayev, will supply geological information on several oil and gas projects to a Chinese company.

Crystal Management was allowed to export data related to exploration projects, the testing of oil fields and the results of geological and seismic surveys (texts and graphic data). On July 1, 2024, the company obtained a corresponding license from the Geology Committee under the Ministry of Industry and Construction, signed by Chair of the committee Yerlan Akbarov.

Among the potential buyers of the geological information on several oil and gas projects is an oil company from Daqing. The license has been issued to Crystal Management based on a contract between the two companies signed on May 15 and will last from June 28, 2024, to June 28, 2025.

Crystal Management sought the license from the authorized agency because the data concerned was on the list of goods that couldn’t be exported or imported outside of the Eurasian Economic Union without authorization. The last time the Eurasian Economic Commission revised the list of such goods was on April 25, 2015.

In January this year, Crystal Management announced the launch of geological exploration at the Northern Maybulak, Southeastern Doszhan, and Western Konys fields in the Kyzylorda region.

In addition, Crystal Management said it would start developing the Sulutaban oil and gas field in the Zhalagash district of the Kyzylorda region. According to an application the company had filed with the government, the field is going to be developed over the period from 2024 to 2063. According to the drilling schedule, oil wells are expected to be commissioned before 2028.

Timur Kulibayev controls 51% of shares in Crystal Management through Joint Resources; 24.5% of the company’s shares belong to EuroAsia Construction (controlled by Intelligent Consulting Solutions of Askar Aubakirov and Food & Beverage Industry of Kairat Krymov); 15% is controlled by Zhumabike Zhilbayeva through Positive-A, while Raushan Sagdiyeva owns a 9.5% stake in Crystal Management via FCI Management LLP.

The core activities of Crystal Management are oil operations on a contract territory and the exploitation of oil and gas fields. The company is also involved in producing and supplying energy to energy companies as it launched a gas turbine power plant with a capacity of 87.03 megawatts at the Akshabulak field in the Kyzylorda region in 2012.

In 2014, the company obtained the right to search for oil and gas in the Ulytau, Aktobe and Kyzylorda regions. The contract has been extended on several occasions since then. During test oil production, the company produced and sold 12,200 tons of oil in 2022 and 28,600 tons in 2021.

Timur Kulibayev and his spouse Dinara Kulibayeva (the middle daughter of Ex-President Nursultan Nazarbayev) are both ranked 619th in the global list of the richest people with a combined fortune of $10 billion, according to Forbes. They are the second and third richest people in Kazakhstan after Vyacheslav Kim, a majority shareholder of Kaspi, whose wealth is estimated at $6.3 billion.

The core business of the Kulibayev family is banking, as the spouses control the biggest Kazakhstani bank – Halyk Bank, through ALMEX (69.52% of common shares of the bank). The remaining 28.49% of shares belong to The Bank of New York, a nominee holder. Apart from interests in the banking and oil industries, the couple also possesses real estate and many other assets.